


Hamil-Heights

by Ki_writes



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: F/M, High School AU, It has In the Heights, John will probably come out, M/M, Musicals, Things are gonna get real cute, Title may change too, gonna find him a cute gay boy, he's gay duh, more tags to come, not a crossover though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:13:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 34,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6217885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ki_writes/pseuds/Ki_writes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's her senior year of high school, and Eliza can feel her chances of ever grasping her dream boy slipping away. However, when the new musical is announced, Eliza knows this may be the perfect opportunity to finally take her shot. </p><p>(Or)<br/>It's a high school au, with love, musicals, and singing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good Morning!

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea based off a tumblr prompt and now here I am. It's taken me a while to jump start it, but I actually have some good ideas for this. Enjoy, friends! Let us embark on this journey together.

_Good morning students, welcome to another bright and sunny day at Rev High!_

Eliza fixed her hair in the mirror, stealing one more glance before gathering her books in her arms, and slinging her bag over her shoulders. Her small frame was perfectly suited to rock her outfit of choice; an emerald green, medium sleeve shirt, light blue jeans, and a dark belt. Her hair was half up and half down and it outlined her face perfectly. 

_We have a few announcements to make before we let you all go on your way with the day. First; congratulations to our football team for making it all the way to state finals, you had a great season, boys. Wonderful job, Warriors! Second, we would like to make sure that all students are aware of the shift in school lunches. We have cut out some of the unhealthy options our cafeteria had, specifically the three fast food restaurants. They have been replaced after the three day weekend with what our district yields as healthy alternatives._

“Hey, Eliza!” 

“Hi, girls!” Eliza’s cheerful voice was a pick-me-up during the early hours of the school for most people who knew her. She was kind, generous, and always loved to step up to a challenge; all those things were easily reflected in her voice. 

_That’s all for your morning announcements, and have a wonderful day!_

There was a five minute period where students could then make their way to classrooms, pick up last second supplies from their lockers, or chat amongst themselves before they absolutely had to be in class. For Eliza, these five minutes were always her calm period. She typically walked to class alone, lost in thought of whatever would be consuming her mind. Today, however, she heard an oh-so familiar voice greeting her ears as she walked on. 

“Eliza!” 

“Why hello again, Peggy,” she greeted her sister warmly. “It feels as though I haven’t seen you in… oh ten minutes or so,” 

Her younger sister let out a giggle. “Hush! I wanted to come over and ask you about prom!” Eliza cringed. She was a senior, and Peggy, a sophomore. Because of the fact that this was her last year, everyone had been pestering Eliza on if she was going to the prom, who she would take, what her dress would look like. Eliza, on the other hand, was not having it. She didn’t particularly want to go to the prom. It seemed pointless to her, to spend all that money to go dance for a few hours and then go home. Of course, she would always make an acception for-

“I think we should go dress shopping for you soon,” Peggy interrupted her thoughts. 

“Oh?” Eliza raised her eyebrow. “And what makes you think I’m going to the prom in the first place?” 

This earned an annoyed groan from the younger sister. “Come on, ‘Liza, it’s your _senior prom_.”

“And so I am automatically obligated to go?” 

“Well, I think you should. Who do you want to go with?” 

Eliza knew darn well who she wanted to go to the prom with. Unfortunately for her, that person hardly ever paid attention when she was in his presence, so her chances were slim to none. The hesitation in her answer made Peggy grab her arm, and whisper, “Eliza, who is it?” 

“Nobody, Peggy, it does not matter,” They were approaching Eliza’s first hour class and she couldn’t tell, but her footsteps were slowly picking up their pace, listening to her subconscious desire to be away from the conversation. She loved her sister, don’t get her wrong, but sometimes she rubbed her the wrong way with how nosy she could be. 

“It’s that boy, oh what’s his name…” sarcasm seeped through her breath. “Alexander, isn’t it?” of course, Peggy knew Alexander, they were all relatively well acquainted with each other. A few parties here and there over the years and the Schuyler's had come to know Alexander and his friends relatively well. That didn't mean Alex truly _noticed_ Eiza, though. “I saw his name with hearts around it in your notebook.”

Eliza huffed. “You are so nosy, Peggy. I will see you after school,” and with that she tapped her sister’s nose and disappeared into her first hour. The Schuyler Sister took her seat in the front of the classroom, arranging her materials on her desk as she usually did. Slowly, children started to file in, and take their seats around Eliza, who was much too consumed in her own thoughts to notice them. 

_Going to the prom with Alexander Hamilton,_ she mused to herself. _I bet he would look so handsome in a dark blue shirt, that would match the color of my dress so perfectly. Not that he doesn't look handsome all the time, but… and his hair would probably be pulled back into that adorable messy bun. He doesn't seem like the boy who would put a lot of time into his hair, even for an occasion like the prom. Again, not that he needs to anyway, he has the best hair. I wonder what product he uses, I bet it's so soft…_

“Good morning, class!” 

_Okay, Eliza. Enough gawking at a boy who doesn't even know you exist. It's time for AP English._

~~~~~~~~

“I refuse to eat this cardboard!” 

“Freedom for our stomachs!”

“How do they expect us to be healthy and nutritious eating things like this?” 

Ahh, yes. The natural sounds of Rev high school during lunch. At the outside tables of the cafeteria, two boys stood atop of the benches, shouting passionately about, yes, food. These two boys were the infamous duo, John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton, who were a part of the even more infamous quartet that included Marquis de Lafayette and Hercules Mulligan. They were all individuals, who so happened to work stronger as a unit. Almost every teacher on campus knew them to cause a commotion when they were together. 

Now, there they were, holding up empty water bottles and flimsy paper plates. Laurens had his arm draped over Hamilton's shoulder, as they continued to yell unfiltered. 

Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy all saw the commotion, and Angie scoffed. “Let's go grab lunch, and maybe when we get back they'll be finished with their moment.” 

That's exactly what they did: they went inside and waited a few minutes in line until the lunch ladies smiled at them. The Schuyler Sisters were a fan favorite in the cafeteria, since a lot of their spare time was spent helping the aged lunch women clean up, or prepare for the next day's meals. They all got their usual, the typical pizza, or box of breaded chicken, or a small salad and cup of fruit (it was Peggy who always ate the healthiest). Low and behold, when they made it back outside, the commotion was still happening on the picnic table. So, for the time being, they sat as far away from it as possible, but the three did not manage to slide under the radar of the Revolutionary crew. 

Alexander clasped John on the shoulder and jumped off of the table, leaving John and drawing the eye of almost everyone in the general vicinity. He skidded to a halt smoothly in front of the three girls, and leaned a single hand on the table. 

“Why hello, ladies,” his voice was smooth, and sultry. Eliza felt her heart stop as Alex’s deep eyes met hers for a mere split second. “Angelica, looking lovely as always,” and her heart cracked barely as his attention shifted to her older sister. 

“Alexander,” Angelica folded her arms across her chest. “Looking desperate as always,” 

Giggles and quiet murmurs erupted from the crowd, and one could see Alex’s facade falter for an instant, before he put it back on. 

“Playing hard to get as always, too,” a sly smile crept across her face, and she unfolded her arms. 

“What do you want, Hamilton?” 

“Just stopping by to look at the pretty flowers,” a hand swept across the table. “Orange, blue, and yellow, _beautiful_ flowers,” a glorious smile adorned his face.

From behind Alex came Lafayette, who was a French exchange student, living with Alexander while he was in the states. “Bonjour, ladies,” he grabbed Alexander's arm. “Excuse mon petit lion, he is wanted back at our table,” 

Alexander exchanged a look of slight frustration with Laf and reluctantly bowed to the girls. Eliza couldn't help but stare as they left. Alex's hair was down today, a pleasant change from his usually messy ponytail: though both looks were perfectly Alexander. The man rarely stopped working, Eliza knew, which is precisely why she also knew she would have no chance of ever grabbing his attention. Yet, still… a moment ago, he had stopped an entire rally at the lunch table to come over and say hi to the Schuyler's. Well, to flirt with Angelica. But still! 

“You've got it bad, babe,” the comforting (and challenging) voice of Angelica cooed in her direction. 

“What are you talking about?” Blush pushed it's way onto Eliza's cheeks. 

“You think we don't see how you stare at that boy?” 

Eliza sighed inwardly. “Yes, well, he sure doesn't stare at me the same way...” the sentence trailed off. 

“Oh sweetie,” Angelica wrapped an arm around her sister's small frame. “He wouldn't notice pure and utter beauty if it smacked him in the face. So it looks like you're going to need to do something more than smacking him!” 

This caused a small smile to creep onto Eliza's face, and she resigned to silently eating her breaded chicken. 

~~~~~~~~ 

Eliza sat on the hood of her sister’s car, halfheartedly listening to the conversation Angelica was having with one of the boys, John Church. As unamusing as their words were, it was interesting to watch John lay out the charm on Angelica (or at least, try to). Mainly, though, Eliza thought of what Alex had done at lunch, and how easy it would be to ask him to prom. Alright, it was easier put in her head. 

_Maybe I should just… ask him to go to the prom with me,_ she told herself. _I’m sure he wouldn’t mind going with me. We’re good friends, right? Well, okay, we’re in the same friend group, which means we have some degree of a friendship._

Far off in the distance, Eliza identified a few new voices, but was too zoned in her mind to register who their identities belonged to. 

“Umm, Eliza?” 

_Alexander’s hair looked so great today when I saw him at lunch._

“‘Liza,” 

_I bet it’s so soft to run your fingers through…_

“Elizabeth!” 

“What, Margarita?” Eliza snapped at her sister unintentionally, who frowned at the usage of her full name. She rolled her eyes and gestured loosely, to which Eliza followed and found- 

Oh.

“Hey, ‘Liza,” John Laurens stood there, smiling sweetly at her, leaning very gently on the car. Alexander stood next to him, phone in hand, fingers furiously typing. 

“Hi John,” Eliza grinned, moving over so he could sit next to her on the hood. “Hey, Alex,” her voice shrunk a bit at the mention of his name, and the boy hardly stopped to look at her until his tweet was finished and sent. 

“Hey, Eliza.” Alex puts his phone down for a second, a sudden urgency in his eyes. “You’ll never guess what Jefferson said to me on Twitter,” 

John groaned audibly, peering at his best friend. 

“Something about debate, I’m sure,” Eliza’s soft voice caught Alexander off guard, and before he could plunge into a deeply rooted rant about how Jefferson was always wrong and how he didn’t deserve the position he had been given, he stopped. 

“Actually, no,” his response wasn’t at all angry, but more tentative. “He’s trying out for the spring musical, and he said he’s certain he’ll be getting the lead role,” Alex rolled his eyes. “What an idiot, he has the voice of a dying walrus,” 

Peggy snorted with laughter in the back seat of the convertible, while John covered his mouth to conceal his own. Alex shrugged, pulling his phone back up; likely looking to fire another tweet in Jefferson’s direction. 

“The Spring musical? Do you know what it is?” Eliza hadn’t even heard the announcement of the auditions, let alone the name. She was almost always one of the first people to know about these kinds of things, the theater was her place of sanctuary. 

Alexander mumbled quietly, not bothering to answer. 

John smiled sympathetically at Eliza. The two of them were relatively close in their group of friends, and John knew better than anyone that Eliza had a big ‘thing’ for Hamilton. He also knew that Hamilton was the most oblivious boy in the entire school. The boy could be hit with a car and not realize it until someone told him. 

“I hate to break up this get together, but we must be going,” Angelica shooed John off of her hood playfully, giving him a fist-bump before getting into the driver's seat. Eliza and John shared a quick hug, and the three sisters left the parking lot. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Incoming call from _Gimme.the.S.Adams_

“Laf, you know what we have to do,” 

“Oui, mon ami, I will add him in,” 

Added _The.Tailor_ to the call

“You guys think this is actually going to work?” Hercules questioned. 

“It has to, the man needs to do this.” John scanned through his contacts. 

“Mon petit lion does not listen very much,” 

John snorted and continued searching, until he found the name in question.

“Here goes nothing, guys,” 

Added _A.Ham_ to the call

“What do you guys want?” Alexander’s tired voice was not all that comforting. “I’m writing,” 

“We’re auditioning for the spring musical,” Hercules blurted out, not wanting to feed around the bush. “You are too,” 

Alexander was hush for a moment, the only audible noise was the clacking of his keyboard. The group held their breath, thinking that maybe, just _maybe_ , Alexander wouldn’t put up a fight for once in his life. 

“I don’t think so. Too much to do,” 

They all groaned. 

“Dammit, Alex, you’re auditioning for this musical.” John leaned back in his chair, frustration settling in on his face. 

“Alexander, it will be good for you to do something that isn’t… school work,” 

“Yeah, man, we’re all doing it,” Hercules added. 

“We graduate in eight months. I need to prepare, not worry about some dumb musical,” Alex continued to type away, only half listening to his friends. 

The three of them fell silent at this. He had a point. But Alex was so notoriously known for being ahead in his work that he had to have enough wiggle room to allow for the show. 

John got an idea. 

“It looks great on a college application,” 

“What?” the typing on Alex’s end stopped. 

The other two caught onto the drift. 

“Oh, yes! Alexander!” Lafayette clapped cheerfully. “Colleges will find you more… how you say, desirable?”

They all held their breath, as Alex thought. 

“What's the musical?” 

There it was, an opening. Now was their only chance to really get him in on it. 

“It's a musical about immigrants! From all over, living in Washington Heights.” 

“Yes, and it's a hip hop musical, so it isn't even traditional!” 

“It will be wonderful, Alexander!” 

More silence filled the air, before Alex spoke again. “In the Heights?” 

“That's the one.” 

“Fine. I'll do it,” he went back to typing on his document, whatever it could have been. “I'm doing it for the colleges, though. Not for fun,” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, sour apple,” John withheld a laugh, and quickly sent off celebratory messages to the other two men in the chat. Tomorrow they would all sign up, together. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“I love In the Heights!” Eliza squeaked with joy, showing Angelica the email announcement. “This could be my chance to finally get something big!” she gasped. “I could play Vanessa! Could you imagine, Angie? Me, as a leading lady in a musical.” 

“I think you ought to get a song ready to audition with, girl!” 

“Will you audition with me? And Peggy too!” Eliza smoothed out her nightgown and smiled hopefully at her older sister. Angelica was only a few months older than she, and the two of them would be graduating together that year.

“Well, Peggy has stage fright, remember, but I wouldn't mind giving it a go, love,” she placed her hand over Eliza’s and stood from her place on the bed. “We’ll see about signing up tomorrow,” 

Eliza nodded happily, and went back to tying up her hair for the night. She hummed a sweet tune about elevated trains, and limousines that night as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment if you feel so obliged and let me know! Chapter two will be coming soon.


	2. No Turning Back Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once you sign up, there's no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Hopefully it's a good read.

Alexander woke up the next morning and groaned. School was becoming more and more of a chore to him, all he wanted to do was be done with it and move along to college. The bright light filtered through his blinds, and Alex covered his face with a pillow. He had finally crawled into bed around four in the morning- nothing out of the ordinary for the eighteen year old. 

“Alexander, come down for breakfast!” 

A sweet voice greeted his ears and Alex felt slightly less annoyed. He sat up, grumbling to himself about the unreasonable hour that school required students to wake up at, and checked his phone. 

From J. Laurens at 6:02AM  
Rise and shine sleeping beauty

Alexander smirked and rubbed his eye, firing a text back without hesitation. 

To J. Laurens at 6:09AM  
Why if it isn't the beast, stirring from his sleeping chambers. 

The boy sat up and stretched his back, then he stood to stalk off to the bathroom. There he used the restroom, washed his face, and threw his hair up into a ponytail. When he came back to his phone, he saw a string of terrible puns and insults left by his best friend, and he couldn't help but giggle to himself. Moments later, the scent of bacon found its way into his room, and Alex rushed down the stairs. 

“Morning, dear,” his foster mother, Martha smiled at him, gently placing a kiss on his forehead as Alex sat down at the table. She slid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him, which he thankfully started to devour. 

“Son,” a much deeper voice entered the room as Alex's foster dad, George, sat down at the table next to him. “Good morning, Martha,” he smiled warmly at her. 

“Here you are, love,” her hands lingered on Washington's arms for a moment, and Alex let out a fake gag. 

“Hush, you,” Washington playfully scolded, leaning back in his chair to indulge in the morning paper. Things went silent after that, with each member of the family consumed in their own thoughts and activities. 

“So,” Alex spoke up, tapping his fork on his plate in a nervous manner. “I'm auditioning for the musical. Laurens and Lafayette said colleges would like a diverse student like that,” 

His parents glanced at each other, skeptical looks on their faces. 

“You're doing this for college interest?” George questioned. Mr Washington was a history teacher at Alex's school, and the two of them knew how involved Alex felt with his school work and his future. However, interest in a musical was something they had never come across with him before. 

“Well that, and Jefferson said he would get the lead. He's auditioning too. And all the guys are doing it, even Hercules. I knew the guy loved his Disney music, but I never imagined that he would audition for anything like this. A musical, huh. Laurens said it was a hip hop musical, I mean how cool is that? And it's about immigrants! I can totally relate to that, you know, when I first-” 

“Sweetie,” Martha interrupted softly. “Is there another reason you might be auditioning? Maybe… a pretty girl you're trying to impress?” 

Alexander choked on a piece of egg. “Mom, no. There's no girl I'm trying to win over with my amazing jazz hands,” 

“I don't know, son, what about one of the Schuyler Sisters?” Washington had, at one point, had each sister in one of his classes, and he knew they were all good friends with the ‘Revolutionary crew’ (as Alex insisted they call his group of friends). 

“Dad-” Alex stopped short. The Schuyler's were bound to be auditioning for the show as well, at least Eliza would for sure. Maybe she would find a way to rope Angie and Peggy into it as well. The girl could be very persuasive. 

Washington snickered and folded his paper. “Right, Alex,” 

Alexander scowled at his parents and stood hastily. “John will be here soon to pick me up, I'm gonna wait outside,” 

Martha giggled and wrapped her arms around Alexander lovingly. “Of course, dear, have a wonderful day,” 

With that, Alex shook Washington's hand (not needed, of course, but Alex always felt it necessary to show that respect, even to his father), and made his way out the front door, leaving George and Martha to chat amongst themselves. 

“A Schuyler Sister, hmm?” Martha hummed as she collected their plates from the table and took them to the sink for washing. 

“I don't know, Martha, I've seen the way Elizabeth looks at him, I think she really likes the boy,” 

Martha nodded over her shoulder, continuing to hum to herself. George quietly stood behind her, wrapping his arms around his wife’s waist, mumbling ‘I love you’ against her shoulder repeatedly. He too, left for the high school shortly thereafter. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

“We’re doing this, right?” Hercules asked as the Revolutionary Crew stood at the sign up board. They had met before school to sign up, but it seemed that they were having second guesses with the paper staring them square in the face. 

“You said so,” Alex murmured. “God, look at how obnoxious Jefferson’s signature is. In purple glitter pen! I can't bare this. Give me my pen,” he hastily scribbled his name on the line below Jefferson’s making certain to cross over onto his stupid purple pen. 

With that, the boys sealed their fate. Laurens signed next, then Lafayette, and lastly Hercules. 

“This is it, boys, we’re moving up,” 

A silence fell between them. 

“Hey, guys?” 

“Yo?” 

“Do any of you know what goes into an audition?” 

“No clue.” 

~~~~~~~~~ 

“Angelica, Peggy, come on!” Eliza could hardly contain her excitement. The sign up board for auditions was posted, and she couldn't wait to see the line up of people who planned to audition. The lunch bell had just rang, and the two other (not as excited) Schuyler's followed closely behind their sister, wanting to get to lunch as fast as possible. 

“Eliza, slow down,” Peggy begged, her smaller legs having problems keeping up with Eliza’s enthusiastic strides. 

“The sign up sheet isn't going anywhere,” Angelica added, holding onto Peggy’s hand warmly. 

Eliza scoffed and continued on. This was her big shot, she could feel the warm lights right then and there, lighting up her light skin perfectly. She could hear the applause, people having been thoroughly amazed by her wonderful performance as Vanessa. She had to get it, she just had to. Next thing she could see was the sign up sheet and her walk turned into a run down the remaining stretch of hall. 

“Look!” she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes scanned the page on the wall. 

“‘King’ George,” Angelica rolled her eyes, as she read the paper over her sister’s shoulder. George was a kid who felt that the entire school needed to grovel at his feet, for almost no reason at all. She continued to read the names. “Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton- oh Betsey, Alex is auditioning!” Eliza looked slightly pale. “John Laurens, Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan. Goodness, the entire Revolutionary bunch is auditioning. Who is that?” her finger planted on a foreign name-one she had never seen before. 

“Maria Reynolds,” Peggy read aloud, tapping her finger against her chin. “Do you know her, ‘Liza?” 

Eliza shook her head, half listening to her sisters. _Alexander Hamilton_. Was she reading that correctly? Was there another boy under the same name? Maybe it was a joke. After all Alex had never been interested in theater at the school. Then again, the entire Revolutionary Crew had their names on the list. Unless someone was pranking them, this had to be real. 

“Well, I for one, would like to get food in this day and age, so…” Angelica grabbed her pen and scribbled her name onto the list, handing it swiftly to Eliza, who then signed her name (still slightly in shock). “Peggy, how about signing up for tech?” 

Peggy shrugged her shoulders, writing her name down under the smaller list for tech volunteers. On that list was only one other name so far. “James Madison,” Peggy stared at his writing for a moment before shaking her head. 

“Let's go get lunch!” 

~~~~~~~~ 

“What about this one?” Alexander pressed play on his laptop, leaning back in his chair to glance at his three friends. 

“Alex, can you really hit those notes?” Lafayette asked, looking up from his phone. Each of them was scanning their music libraries, looking for possible songs they could sing for their auditions. 

The school day had passed uneventfully, filled with the usual morning announcements, boring class periods, bland lunches, more boring classes, and then they were dismissed. The entire day seemed to breeze by, possibly with help from their budding nerves. Auditions were in two days, but after realizing that they had no idea what they were doing, the four boys felt the need to kick everything into high gear and try to prepare as best they could. That meant watching videos online with tips on how to project their voice, and judging each other's song decisions.

Alexander shrugged and went back to scrolling, occasionally checking his phone. Hercules and Lafayette were sprawled out on Alexander's bed, John was on the floor by Alex's desk, and Alex was sitting in his desk, tapping his foot against the metal bar of his swivel chair. 

“I got it!” Hercules leapt to his feet and pressed play, turning up the volume as loud as it could go. Slowly, the intro played out and the boys pieced together what was playing. 

“Is this seriously Go the Distance from Hercules?” John asked. 

Herc nodded triumphantly, sitting back down with a resolved smile on his features. “It's perfect, I know the song like the back of my hand,” 

Lafayette giggled and shoved his friend, but quickly gained an idea. “John, you know what song you should sing?”

“What?” John put down his phone, willing to find any song that would stop his search. 

Lafayette pressed play and a jazzy tune started to play. John knew what it was as soon as the words began. 

“Lafayette! This is I Just Can't Wait to be King from the Lion King!” 

Laf nodded enthusiastically, stopping the song as it neared the end of the first chorus. “You would fit the role perfectly, you're so cute and bouncy when you want to be!” 

John was going to fire back, but he felt blush cover his cheeks and he sat back down on the floor. 

The next hour flew by, with Hercules giving his rendition of Go the Distance repeatedly, John figuring out the last two verses of his song, and Lafayette and Alexander figuring out their audition songs (Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, and I'll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan, in that order). They definitely found their inspiration from their favorite Disney movies, everyone at the audition would surely be able to tell. 

“I emailed the theater teacher, and she said to be prepared to read some dialogue from the show,” Alexander turned around in his chair to face all of his friends. “It's a cold read type situation,” 

Hercules groaned. “That makes me even more nervous. We have no idea what we’re going to be getting into, they're just going to tell us to read,” 

“Calm down, mon ami,” Lafayette placed a comforting hand on the panicking Mulligan’s shoulder. 

“They're just going to give us a script and say go?” John asked, taking a bite out of a granola bar he had stashed in his backpack. 

“Essentially,” Alex nodded, putting his glasses back on to read the email again. “It says that we will do the cold read on the first day, and then they do callbacks, where we will read as specific characters who they want to possibly see us as. If we get a callback, of course.” 

They all nodded. So, there was, in reality very little they could do to prepare. It was an on the spot deal, and they just had to hope that they were what the directors wanted. 

“Hey, Herc. I think you should try singing your song with a bit more power this time,” 

Hercules cleared his throat. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

“So, we read the same bit of dialogue on day one and then they start to assign people to characters during the callbacks,” Eliza explained to her sister, who was currently reading over a scene from the show. Eliza had purchased a copy of the script years prior from a cute little bookshop that sold Broadway related merchandise, and official books. “It's testing, but it's a lot of fun usually,” 

Angelica nodded, muttering something to herself in Spanish. “I like this character, Daniela, she's pretty funny,” 

“She's just like you, very caring,” Eliza smiled. “Super sassy. A bit of a know it all. She likes to be involved.” 

Angie rolled her eyes, closing the script. “Watch it, sister,” she threatened playfully. “Are you nervous about Alexander auditioning?” 

Eliza continued her search through her music, already knowing what song she was going to use. “Nervous? No, I don't think so.” 

“Oh come on, I know you've thought about him being your…” Angelica quickly thumbed through the script again. “Usnavi! The Usnavi to your Vanessa,” 

Eliza felt blush creeping onto her cheeks. “Hush, Angelica. I want to focus on getting the part. Alexander may not even be very good, he might just get ensemble, or something like that,” 

Angelica shook her head, a small smile adorning her face. The two went back to searching, until Eliza stopped, holding a hand up triumphantly. 

“This song! This is what I'll audition with,” she pressed play, and the intro of delicate harp and piano cords began to play. “It's a song from a musical written by the same man,” 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The next two days slip by. More names are added to the list, more nerves stir inside of everyone on said list. Angelica finds her song of choice (a female rendition of a Bruno Mars song, because “Why wouldn't I be able to perform a song that was performed by a boy in the first place? Because I'm a woman? That's ridiculous”). Eliza rehearses her song (even burning a piece of paper on one of her run throughs, in an effort to immerse herself into the character). The Revolutionary Crew watches a lot of videos, they practice together after school. Everyone is feeling on edge, and surprisingly, they are all taking it seriously. 

Eliza had run into John once since they had all signed up, and he quickly explained that the boys convinced Alexander to audition as one last ‘hoorah’ in high school. 

“He definitely wasn't all for the idea when we initially told him,” John explained to her as they shared a cup of shaved ice from the food truck that the school allowed on campus once a week. 

“I would think not,” Eliza commented, taking a small bite of the cherry section of ice. 

“But he's warmed up to it,” John continued. “We all have. We’re all singing Disney songs,” Eliza giggled at that. “Hey, it was the best we could do!” 

“Oh no, it'll do fine. A song is a song,” her giggling continued. 

“Anyway, Alex is pretty excited for tomorrow, he thinks it's crazy that they would make us all wait until after school to audition, but I know he’ll get over it. He's a pain in my butt, ‘Liza, a pain!” 

Eliza nodded understandingly. Anyone who dealt with Alexander at the rate that John Laurens did deserved a metal of bravery and honor. 

“John. Eliza.” speak of the devil. 

“Hey, Alex,” Eliza blurted out before she could stop herself. 

He smiled warmly at her. “You're auditioning tomorrow, yes?” he grabbed John's spoon and took a chunk of ice out of their cup. 

“I sure am,” Eliza blushed involuntarily. She always did when Alex was around. “I saw your name on the list as well. John says you're pretty excited.”

“Yes, well, John is too, you know,” Alex gave the spoon back to a scowling John. “He hasn't stopped talking about it since we signed up. Who knew the boy liked to sing so much,” he passed a smirk in John's direction. 

“Let's go, loser, that's enough,” John stood, and grabbed Alexander's ear in mock annoyance, before turning back to Eliza and blowing her a playful kiss. “Farewell, dearest, until tomorrow!” 

Alexander shook John's hand away and followed him to his car, passing a wave back at Eliza, who was almost as red as a tomato. Damn her lack of self control. Damn her crush on Alexander. Well, no, don't damn that.  
Eliza signed to herself, and gathered her things. Tomorrow would surely be an interesting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one is gonna be an adventure to get through. Not sure how it'll be written yet, but we'll find out soon enough!


	3. God Help the Auditionees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's auuddiition day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowowowzers, I am so sorry this took so long. This chapter was obscenely difficult to write for some reason. It just never came to me. It's done now, though, and... it's okay. Please, enjoy! 
> 
> Also, I've been listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame a lot recently. Could you tell by the title?

_The moment is now,_ Eliza opened her eyes, welcoming in the fresh morning light that drained through her window. Her hair was a mess, her eyes felt heavy with sleep, but Eliza was ready to face the day that awaited her. She was ready to take her shot. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Alexander felt his eyes slowly falling closed. He had stayed up until five in the morning, unsurprisingly. However, what was surprising was the reason he had stayed up. Almost all of his night was consumed with practicing. He practiced his song to the point of him losing track of how many times he sang it. He then practiced some dialogue. Alexander had looked up In the Heights and had watched a few (probably not legal) videos of the staging from the musical when it was still running on Broadway. 

The main character, he learned, was named Usnavi, and he was an immigrant into New York. He came with his parents, who passed away not long after they arrived. At first, Alex laughed at the name Usnavi, thinking it was thoroughly ridiculous. But as he continued to look into the character, he could see himself more, and more, and more, and more. Immigrant, put on his own for quite some time, lived with his cousin (although the cousin in In the Heights had a much better reality than Alex’s own cousin). 

Late in the night, Alexander found a copy of the musical’s script, and he began practicing - reciting lines to see what he would sound like in each role. He went through most of the male roles, and could slowly feel himself falling in love with the characters. They just… felt so relatable to him. 

And so, that is how Alexander spent his night. Singing, reciting lines, and even breaking out a dance move or two here and there. Alex was impressed with himself. He was taking an oddly serious approach to this. Still, when Alexander Hamilton put his mind to something, he went _all in_ on it. 

Glancing at his phone, he found that it was 6:12, and he silently cursed to himself. Laurens would be there to pick him up relatively soon. Alex sat up and yawned, ready to kill an audition. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

John Laurens had no idea _why_ he was about to do what he was going to do. He didn’t have stage fright, and he wasn’t scared to put himself out there. The boy worked endlessly to portray a good image of himself. He wanted others to know his name for _something_ by the time he left high school. He wanted people to look back on him and say ‘You remember that John Laurens, he was good at…’ good at something! 

He rolled up to Hamilton’s house, to find him already waiting outside. He got in and the two of them sat in silence for most of the drive to school. 

“He lost his parents,” Alexander muttered under his breath as they pulled up to a red light. 

“What?” 

“Usnavi. The main character in the musical,” 

John nodded his head, seeing the bright flash in Alexander’s eyes. He could relate. 

John spent the next gap of silence thinking. Thinking about how he was going to leave his imprint. This musical was a good chance; a good start, but it definitely wouldn’t be easy coming. 

~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome, all, and thank you so much for showing interest in the school musical.” The director of the show smiled, a clipboard in her hand. Her eyes scanned the auditorium, which was filled with about seventy young individuals who were looking to audition for their production. 

“Please make sure to fill out the application completely. My TA will be coming around shortly to take your photos and get you all to fill out your name, so we can be sure of who we are casting. We will begin shortly after all applications are turned in!” 

A hushed murmur took over the room as kids began to fill out their information. Some kids were bragging about their past theater experiences, some kids were thoroughly confused, and others were absolutely silent. 

The Revolutionary Gang sat off to the side, chatting amongst themselves. 

“Yo, why are they asking for ‘special talents’? What am I supposed to put down for that?” Laurens asked, scratching his head with a pencil. 

“Well, you’re really good at being a smart ass,” Hercules snickered in John’s direction. “You could put that down,” 

John glared at him, mumbling a string of curses under his breath. Lafayette giggled quietly, and Alex nudged John’s shoulder playfully. They went back to scribbling on the papers, occasionally talking to each other.

“Well, well, well, would you look at who it is,” 

Alexander groaned, immediately recognizing the voice behind him. 

“What do you want, Jefferson?” 

“Oh, I’m just surprised your group of rags showed up today,” Thomas nudged James, who was standing quietly next to him. “You know there’s no chance of any of you getting anything worthwhile in this production, right?”

Lafayette snorted, not even looking up from his paper. It was Alex who stood up to meet Jefferson face to face. Well, he had to look up at Jefferson, considering their height difference, but Alex had gotten over it as time went on. 

“You know, Jefferson, you ought to keep your mouth shut,” he spat. “You don’t know what you’re going to get, if anything at all.” 

“I have a much better chance than some little ragamuffin with bags under his eyes and messy hair on his head.” He tapped the top of Alexander’s head mockingly. 

“You ass-”

“Alex, stop,” John stood up to grab his friend before their confrontation became any more heated. “He isn’t worth it. Prove him wrong on the stage,” 

Alex reluctantly stepped down, ignoring the sly smirk that crept onto Jefferson’s face. 

“Right. Prove me ‘wrong’, Hamilton!” He grinned, stepping on Hamilton’s backpack that lay on the floor next to their seats. “I look forward to seeing you onstage.” With that, Jefferson left. 

“God, can you believe Jefferson is so full of himself?” Hamilton was seething with rage.

“Chill, Hamilton,” John shushed him. “I meant what I said. Just prove him wrong onstage.”

“You sound like someone from High School Musical,” Hercules laughed loudly, standing while he took Lafayette’s finished application. “You done yet?” He held his hand out expectantly towards Alex and John, who finished scribbling on their papers. 

“Boys, this is really happening.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hercules Mulligan,” A woman called out into a microphone. The auditionees had been split up into groups of ten, and that group would all go in together and they would filter through the singing portion of the audition that way. The group of ten would then be sent to the theater classroom to do a brief reading of the script, just to get a feel for how the students worked with their characters (and also to see if they prepared at all). They would then be ushered to the dance studio that served as the dance classroom, where they would learn a short combination.  
It was the whole shebang. 

Hercules stood up and popped his collar, throwing a wink in Lafayette’s direction before making his way up the steps at the side of the stage. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“Elizabeth Schuyler,” Her name startled her a little, and she dropped her phone, immediately shuffling nervously to the side of the stage. 

She inhaled a deep breath and put on her best smile. _The moment is now._

~~~~~~~~~~

Lafayette hit a double pirouette and stuck the landing perfectly, throwing his hands on his hips, smiling triumphantly at the judge in front of him. His breath was gone, sweat was beginning to pour down his forehead. They had learned the combination in twenty minutes, and continued to do it over and over again, different judges looking at different aspects of the performances. 

The judge in front of Lafayette hid her half grin as she scribbled some notes on his paper. Lafayette turned on his heels, flipping his hair dramatically over his shoulder in the process. 

The boy sure had a sassy side to him. Even more than his usual sassiness. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s a stolen register, a ripped up awning, it’s just things.” 

“I heard.” 

“I still got a gas range, can I make you some coffee?” 

“You got actual stuff to deal with.” 

“Listen, about last night, Sonny was calling, Abuela was alone…”

“My phone didn’t ring once all night. No one cared if I was okay.” 

“I meant to call.” 

A pause. “Sorry about your bodega.” 

“Scene. Thank you. Next two, please,” 

Alexander nodded and handed his script off to someone coming on stage next. He and the girl who had read with him jumped off the steps of the raised platform and high fived. 

“That wasn’t so bad, eh?” Alexander whispered to her as they took their seats. 

The girl with red lips simply smiled at him, and shook her head, turning her attention back to the new duo reciting the same scene they had. 

_Wow,_ Alexander thought to himself. _She has a really beautiful smile._

~~~~~~~~~

John felt… awkward to say the least. Dancing like _this_ was not his thing. He sat to the side, sipping from the water bottle his mother had given him with a cute note that said ‘Go get ‘em, Jack!’ in her smooth hand writing. It made John smile regardless. 

But the dancing. Oh, the dancing. John was not a dancer. He wasn’t even sure of half of the terms that the instructor was using when she was choreographing for the group. _Plié… tendu… pass through first position… do a double pirouette if you can, if not, then shoot for a single… whatever you do, make it clean._ The only thing that John knew for sure when she spoke was that when she counted out ‘5, 6, 7, 8…’ he knew to begin dancing. 

Still, despite being outrageously uncomfortable, John did it all with as believable of a smile as he could manage. He was almost certain that he did ninety percent of the dance moves incorrectly, and he almost fell twice. 

Things weren’t looking so bright for John and his odds of a callback. 

~~~~~~~~

Auditions went on for hours. It was efficient, how the department had it all set up, and there only must have been around seventy students who were auditioning for a relatively limited cast of named characters and ensemble members. Half of those kids would be cut in only a few hours time, and the tension in the air was rigid. 

“Thank you all for coming out and taking a chance at this wonderful production that we are putting together,” the theater instructor grinned. “We will post callbacks online tonight by ten, and we will see those of you back here tomorrow after school. Where the real fun will happen. The dirt and grind! You’re dismissed.” 

Students stood and began mumbling amongst themselves, mostly talking about how they felt their performances had been. 

“What do you think, Angie?” Eliza asked her sister as they sat in her car. 

“I think… this will be interesting if I get a callback. I’m sure you’ll be getting one,” 

Eliza sighed quietly, opening her phone to shoot John a text. 

~~~~~~~~

From Betsey at 5:49pm  
What do you think? 

From John at 5:51pm  
Go have mercy on my soul  
At 5:51pm  
I will not be getting a callback. There’s no way after that dancing

From Betsey at 5:52pm  
Come on John, have a little faith. It couldn’t have been that bad. 

From John at 5:54pm  
Eliza, you’re an angel. Such a dreamer and an optimistic person   
At 5:55pm  
Alex thinks he did great. He says he ‘nailed the dialogue part’ 

From Betsey at 5:59pm   
Just four more hours to wait and see. I’ll text you tonight when I see the list. 

From John at 6:07pm   
Best of luck, wonderful Betsey 

~~~~~~~~~

“Raise a glass, my boys, we made it!” Mulligan tapped his glass of apple juice against John’s. What? The boys may have been seniors, but they still loved their apple juice. 

“Day one,” Alexander chided, not looking away from his meticulous typing on his worn out laptop. They were gathered again in Alexander’s room, sipping their drinks in celebration of a day well done. 

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it, man…” John mumbled against his glass, swiping absentmindedly on the screen of his phone. 

“Mon ami!” Lafayette nearly shouted, taking the phone out of John’s lap. “You have the voice of a golden angel, of course you will make it. They would be fools not to cast you,” 

John snorted and stole his phone back. 

“For real man, have some confidence,” Hercules said, sipping again from his glass. 

John, completely in favor of changing the subject, turned to Alex with an expectant look on his face. “So… Alex.” 

“Hmm.”

“Prom.”

“What?” 

“Prom. Are you going to go?” 

“I wasn’t planning on it,” 

“I think you should go.”

Alexander looked up from his laptop, staring John intently in the face. “And why would I do that?” 

“It’ll be fun! You could take… Eliza as your date.” 

“Eliza?” His tone changed completely, and he seemed to zone out. _Eliza._ Alexander shook his head, immediately going back to his typing. “I won’t be going to prom, John,” 

The three of his friends rolled their eyes. 

“Oh, shit!” Alexander’s eyes widened, and he stood up. 

“What, dude?” 

“Boys, strap on your game faces, we have callbacks tomorrow!”

~~~~~~~~

“‘Liza! Angie!” Peggy ran into her sister’s bedroom and skidded to a halt, her phone lit up brightly in her hand. She was beaming with happiness. 

“What is it, Pegster?” Angelica asked, a faint chuckle escaping her lips. 

“You both got a callback!” 

~~~~~~~

From Betsey at 9:52pm  
WE DID IT, JOHN!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh. That was that. In the end, I can move on now. Next chapter will come faster than this one! 
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience and for reading! Casting is coming soon!


	4. One Day More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caaalllllbacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, faster update! And yay, I like this chapter! It was surprisingly fun to write. Enjoy!

“Darling, we are so proud of you!” Martha exclaimed as she set a plate in front of Alexander, planting a kiss on the top of his head. “Callbacks are a huge deal, and I know you’re going to do wonderful this afternoon,” 

“Thanks, mom,” Alex couldn’t help but blush as he picked at his eggs. He wasn’t too hungry that morning. Callbacks were in only nine hours, and Alexander wanted to do the best. The show was surprisingly interesting to him, and he wanted to… Well, he didn’t exactly know what he wanted from the auditions; Any role? A lead role? He didn’t know.

Auditions had gone smoothly enough. His singing was smooth, as smooth as it could be for someone who never took any singing lessons, and who rarely sang in front of others. His dancing was… okay. He hardly knew any of the terminology that the instructor used, but he held his head high the entire time, never showing a break in his confidence. The dialogue portion though… Alexander had never felt more comfortable in his own skin. 

Reading the scene between Usnavi and Vanessa had felt more natural than almost anything he had done before. And the girl that she had done it with; Maria. The way that her voice flowed into his ears, with all the rawness and bitterness that came with the scene they recited together. The way that her eyes glossed over with tears, which she ignored and used to her advantage. She was beautiful, in her element; she looked comfortable. 

A knock at the front door drew their attention. Martha put down her towel and spoon, and went through the hallway to open the door and greet their visitors. 

“Well, if it isn’t Mr Laurens!” Alexander heard his mom cry with happiness. “Good morning, John, congratulations on your callback.” 

“Thank you, Miss Martha,” John’s voice greeted Alexander’s ears, and he smiled, getting up to throw his plate into the sink. 

“Oh, John, how many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Martha,” by then she was back in the kitchen, with John standing in the doorway. Alexander ran over and engulfed him in a hug; slightly out of character for a certain immigrant early in the morning. The boy was not a morning person. 

John laughed, wrapping his arms around his companion. “Good morning to you too, Alex.” 

“You’re early,” Alexander mumbled as he pulled away, blush covering his cheeks for the second time that morning. 

“I wanted to come see Mis- _Martha_ ,” he grinned at her. “And Mr Washington if he was here, but Martha said he had already left for school for some meeting,” 

“He's very excited to hear your results, though,” Martha piped up happily. “You will be joining us for dinner tonight, won't you, John?” 

“I'll have to ask my dad, but it shouldn't be a problem today,” John grinned. 

Martha made a humming noise, seeming to be satisfied with their odds. Alexander hugged her tightly, as she bid him farewell a good luck, then he and John were off for school. 

On the ride there, they blasted music from the soundtrack of the show, and it became clear to John just how quickly Alexander had taken a liking to the show and its’ characters. The boy almost had the entire opening number memorized for Usnavi, Benny, and Sonny’s parts (as well as most of the females, but he didn't sing those). That amazed John, considering they had only known about the show for a few days. But then again, he should never be surprised as to what Alex could do in a short amount of time. 

“Hey, John?” Alexander asked, after dramatically ending the opening number. 

“Yeah?” 

“Are you nervous?” 

The question was simple enough, and John didn't need to spare a thought at his answer. “Hell yes, I am. Are you?” 

“Not as nervous as I expected to be if I actually got a callback.” John could tell that Alex was listening tentatively to the delicate intro to Breathe, for his fingers were drumming along to the piano on his leg. 

John chose to not say anything more, and instead focus on the road, with the voice of Nina Rosario floating through his ears. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome back, kids! Today is going to be a long day. Here’s how this will work; we will do the reading portion first. We will read in order of characters, and we will call everybody in the room who we are interested in seeing in that role. If you are not called to read for a character, we are not considering you for that role. Everyone will read at least three times.

“We will also be doing something new. Because of the integrity of this show, and the amount of rapping it contains, we want to hear you all rap. You may select any song, or we will teach you a short rap from the show. We merely want to see how comfortable you all are with rapping. If you are casted, you will be responsible for learning the raps of the show yourself, and getting comfortable with the music. Alright, let’s get started!” 

The director moved to a table in the front row of the auditorium, and she began mumbling to the other teachers involved in their casting. Students lined seats all over the auditorium, where they were all fidgeting from excitement and nerves. 

The director picked up a microphone and smiled. “Alright, let’s start with… Nina and Benny.” She ran off around ten names for Nina (one of which was Eliza), and around eight boys for Benny (including John, Lafayette, Hercules, Thomas Jefferson, and Charles Lee). 

~

John felt completely out of place. The words that left his mouth felt foreign, and it became obvious that Benny was not his first choice. 

~

It turned out that Lafayette and Eliza paired themselves together, and they hugged before walking onto the stage. 

“My name is Lafayette, and I will be reading for Benny.” His French accent was thick, elevated more than usual due to his nerves. He always reverted back to French when he felt nervous or scared. And there, he was almost shaking. 

“My name is Eliza, and I will be reading for Nina.” 

Lafayette looked back at her, script in hand, and flashed a glint of hope in her direction. 

“And, action.” 

“Roger. _Como?_ Uh… _donde estas?_ Slow down!” Lafayette was getting more flustered, but Eliza widened her eyes. His French accent was virtually nonexistent! It was like he had switched it completely off, and Eliza had never heard him that way before. “Uno momento. Yo, _cabrón _, I’m trying to help you!”__

__Eliza moved next to him, holding her hand out as to take an imaginary radio from his frustrated hands. “Whoa, who taught you Spanish?”_ _

__“The drivers, dirty bastards.”_ _

__“Aha, dime.” All in all, Eliza didn’t know Spanish very well, but she definitely knew the Spanish in the musical. She paused for a moment, listening intently to her fake radio, before continuing. “He’s going to the Cloisters, he’s stuck on the Hudson.”_ _

__“Exit fourteen, follow signs to Fort Tryon.” Lafayette threw his hand around, making the knowledge seem effortless._ _

__“The u-turn off exit fifteen is quicker,” Eliza smirked and gave him the side eye._ _

__“It’s also illegal.”_ _

__“ _Salida quince, hagas una media vuelta, sigue derecho,_ ” Lafayette stared at her in disbelief. _ _

__“You gave him your directions, didn’t you?” He asked, and they both broke out into their own giggles._ _

__“Alright, cut. Thank you. Next two.”_ _

__Lafayette held his hand out for Eliza to hold as she walked down the steps, and he escorted her back to her seat. He left her, but not before whispering “You did wonderful, _mon ami_.” His French accent was back in full swing. _ _

__~~~~~~~_ _

__“Usnavi and Vanessa.” In the list of boys was Aaron Burr, Hercules, Alexander, and… John Laurens? For Vanessa; Angelica, Eliza, and Maria, among many other young ladies. There was a lot of stiff competition for the lead roles._ _

__Aaron Burr and Angelica went first, reciting the scene fairly easily. The concept wasn’t anything totally outrageous- both of them felt rather rigid._ _

__Hercules went with a cute girl who went by Anna, and the two of them may have blown the interaction out of proportion, but nonetheless, they left the stage laughing and smiling._ _

__John and Eliza paired up, giving each other a sense of confidence. Reciting a few lines was nothing when it was the two of them together._ _

__Alexander had jumped on his chance to recite with Maria again; as soon as the director had said her name, Alex and Maria made eye contact. Eliza watched from her spot next to John as Alexander scratched his head, nervously looking Maria up and down and telling her some story of how all the ladies thought he reminded them of their grandmas. It was the same scene that Eliza had previously done, but watching Alexander do it with another girl… she couldn’t help but look down at her hands in her lap._ _

__John gently pressed a hand to her arm, and gave her an apologetic, pained smile._ _

__That Maria girl… Could cause Eliza some trouble._ _

__~~~~~~~~_ _

__“Sonny and Graffiti Pete,” the director called out. She listed around twenty five boys, including Jefferson, Lafayette, Samuel Seabury, Aaron Burr, and John Laurens. Laurens and Burr went together, because, well… they didn’t _completely_ hate each other. _ _

__“Alright, action.”_ _

__“You paged me?” Burr asked._ _

__“Shh. Step into my office.” Laurens moved back a little, speaking very hushly, and motioning for Burr to step into his imaginary office that he outlined on the floor. Burr looked at him, glanced around, as if making sure that nobody was watching, and he stepped through the ‘door’. Kids in the audience giggled. “I just came into a little money and I got a business proposition to throw your way.”_ _

__Laurens gave Burr a sideways glance and motioned for him to come closer so he could whisper in his ear._ _

__Burr nodded, a sly smile growing on his lips. “I’m feeling that.”_ _

__“Is this enough for you to get started?” Laurens handed him some imaginary money, glancing behind him again to check for anyone watching._ _

__“Shit, with this much cash I can hook it up. But it’ll take me all night.”_ _

__“No one knows about this but you and me, you got that?” Laurens held his hand out, and Burr hesitated, before grabbing it and shaking._ _

__“Scene. Thank you, boys.”_ _

__The two of them left the stage together and stopped only to smile at each other once again._ _

__“You’re not too bad, Laurens.” Whether or not Burr was referring to his performance or him as a person, John didn’t know. But to hear something so kind come from a person who strongly disliked (almost hated) his best friend, was something to behold._ _

__His smile broadened and he nodded in Burr’s direction._ _

__“Right back at you, Burr.”_ _

__~~~~~~~_ _

__Over the next few hours, the callbacks continued in full swing, with pairs and small groups reading dialogue at a wicked pace. The Revolutionary crew went up a few times, all the girls did as well. Others like King George, Charles Lee, Samuel Seabury, and Theodosia Prevost also took their shot at a good spot. They had been the underdogs of the previous day, not a lot of people believed they would get callbacks, yet there they were! Getting their chance._ _

__All of the characters were explored throughout the callbacks, from Usnavi to Piragua Guy. The director - for the most part - seemed very pleased with most everybody who was up there giving it their all. Casting would be difficult for sure._ _

__As dialogue continued to move on, kids went into the choir room to rap their songs for the choir teacher and a few other casting directors. Lafayette was a superb rapper, and he absolutely blew them away with his rapid fire speed and ease. Hercules wasn’t as fast as Laf, but he felt like his wrapping was strong enough to impress others as well. John let himself loose for the first time since the auditions had started when he felt the beat of his song hit his ear drums. It was a relief to him, definitely. Alexander rapped almost effortlessly, and inside he knew that he had blown them all away._ _

__Eliza was… more or less confident in her rapping performance. She wasn’t the best rapper, but the selection they pulled from the show was easy enough for her to perform. It’s not that she was bad, but she definitely didn’t think that she was very good. Angelica made the boys swoon with her rapping (as she did with most things that she pursued). King George was a surprisingly good rapper, and the directors looked satisfied with his singing too._ _

__Just as soon as they had started, Callbacks were finished, and the children were all dismissed. They all went their separate ways humming on the last thing their director had said._ _

___”Cast lists will be posted online tonight by ten o’clock.”_ _ _

__~~~~~~~_ _

__“And then! You won’t believe it, Jefferson went up to read for Graffiti Pete, and he put on the most ridiculous fake New Yorker accent I have heard in my entire life!” Alexander laughed loudly, clasping John on the shoulder. “And my boy Laurens here read for Usnavi and he was a hoot! He and Eliza totally killed it.”_ _

__John rolled his eyes and George, who was sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his hands looked up. “You read with Eliza, John?”_ _

__John nodded. “Yes, sir. Alex wanted to read with Maria.”_ _

__“Maria? Reynolds?” George questioned._ _

__“Yes, is she in one of your classes?” Alexander asked._ _

__“Well, I mean, she’s new. But she’s a smart one. Hasn’t missed an assignment since she transferred. She seems like the kind of girl who would audition for the school musical.”_ _

__“She’s gorgeous, dad, you wouldn’t believe the way that she can sing. It’s beautiful, smooth, mature, it’s… enticing. And her acting, oh my,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair a little. “She and I got to talking after the callbacks, before John rushed me away,” he poked John’s shoulder. “Anyway, she asked for my number. She said she would get in touch with me soon.”_ _

__John’s face turned red and he looked down at his lap, his mind immediately shifting to Eliza._ _

__“Is that right?” Washington nodded slowly, tipping his eyes back down to his paper. “I’m sure she’s nice.”_ _

__“You know John, I was thinking.” Alex turned to him. “What you said about prom.”_ _

__“Yeah, and?”_ _

__“If things go well with Maria, then maybe I’ll ask her to go with me. I mean, it’s only August, and the show is in March, but… You know, it closes a week before prom. If we both make it into the show it would be a cool thing to ask her during rehearsal or something, or after a show.”_ _

__John shook his head, his heart breaking a little for his dearest Betsey. “Alexander, you know nothing about her other than her name and that she can kind of sing.”_ _

__Alex stared at John for a moment, looking a bit alarmed. John rarely ever used his full name like that, only when he was trying to be serious._ _

__“I… I’m not saying that it’s set in stone now, John, calm down.”_ _

__John blew a puff of air out of his mouth and looked down at his phone. Eliza would be absolutely crushed if Alexander decided to take Maria, especially because he wasn’t even planning on going in the first place. It would definitely be a knife in her side, and a terrible feeling to graduate with. Still, maybe Eliza was better off without Alexander. Worst comes to worst, John would ask her to go as his date._ _

__They sat in silence after that._ _

__~~~~~~~_ _

__“Do you think you’re going to get anything?” Peggy asked Eliza as she combed through her sisters’ hair. Eliza was doing English homework, reading an article and annotating it. Thoroughly entertaining and riveting. She sighed and put her paper aside._ _

__“I don’t know, Peggy. I’m worried.”_ _

__“Only a little more time to wait, and you’ll find out. I’m sure you did wonderful, ‘Liza.” Peggy kissed her head comfortingly. “What about Angie, did she do well?”_ _

__“Oh she wooed everyone like she usually does,” Eliza tried to smile. “She’s so talented.”_ _

__“You are too, though,” Peggy began braiding her hair, speaking very softly. “How did Alexander do?”_ _

__“Oh, he did _great_. He read with a new girl. Maria.” _ _

__“Oh.” Peggy went quiet, contently rubbing Eliza’s scalp. She got the message by the venom in Eliza’s voice that the topic was best left untouched. Jealousy hurt sometimes._ _

__“Eliza?” Angelica stood tentatively in the doorway, her hand clutching onto her phone._ _

__“Yes, Angie?” Eliza stood up urgently, staring at the clock on her bedside table._ _

__The time was 9:46pm._ _

__“The cast list is posted.” Angie held out her phone for Eliza to take._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention; I am basing these characters off of their Broadway actors. And therefore, some of their vocal ranges may be exaggerated to fit the character that I want them to play. So, it's not totally accurate, but I decided to give myself that indulgence. Cast list first thing next chapter! Until then, thank you for reading!


	5. Welcome to the Barrio, Boys!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cast list is out, and not everyone is as satisfied as they had hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casting this was too fun for me, honestly. Enjoy this.

In the Heights Cast List;  
Usnavi; Alexander Hamilton  
Vanessa; Maria Reynolds  
Sonny; John Laurens  
Benny; Marquis de Lafayette  
Graffiti Pete; Aaron Burr  
Carla; Elizabeth Schuyler  
Daniela; Angelica Schuyler  
Nina; Theodosia Prevost  
Kevin Rosario; Thomas Jefferson  
Camila Rosario; King George (see teacher after class)  
Piragua Guy; Hercules Mulligan 

As some of you may notice, there is nobody casted as Abuela Claudia yet. We will discuss that tomorrow at our first meeting after school. We will go over procedures and rehearsal times, as well as how the show will run in April. Please be there, this is mandatory! Thank you to all who auditioned, and congrats to those who made the cast! 

Below the list of principals was an extensive list of about fifteen kids who made ensemble as well. 

~~~~~~~~

Laurens, Laf, and Herc were all added to group chat _Boys of the Barrio_.

From A. Ham at 10:13pm  
Congrats, my boys, we’ve done the impossible! 

From Laf at 10:13pm  
Mon ami, you have done more! Lead role! 

From Herc at 10:14pm  
Not bad for a tone deaf robot like yourself ;)

From A. Ham at 10:14pm  
First, don’t ever make that winky face at me again, Hercules. Second, I am NOT tone deaf! 

From Herc at 10:14pm  
;) ;) ;) ;)

From Laf at 10:15pm  
Where is our little John? Has he seen the list yet? 

From A. Ham at 10:15pm  
I’m not sure. Let me call him. 

Alexander closed out of his messages and opened the recent call history, where Laurens was his most recent call. The boys talked a lot, to say the least. In fact, most of his call history was filled with the name of that curly haired lover, with a few calls to his parents and Laf or Herc interrupting the trend. He clicked on John’s name and pressed the call button. 

The line rang over and over again, until finally someone picked up. 

“Hello?” 

“John! Where have you been? The cast list has been out for a half hour now, and you haven’t even bothered to get along in our new group chat.” 

“I saw the messages. I’ve been avoiding looking at the cast list. Doing homework, cleaning my room,” Alexander flinched. John hardly ever cleaned his room. This was serious. 

“John. My friend. My dearest, John Laurens. Allow me to be the one to break the news to you.” 

“Oh God,” John sighed heavily. “I didn’t make it, did I?” 

“Laurens, you are now the Sonny to my Usnavi.” 

The line was blank for a moment, John probably trying to process what Alexander was telling him. Surely he, the kid who never acted a day in his life, hardly sang other than for fun in front of friends, and couldn’t dance to save his life, didn’t actually get casted in this production. _Surely_ Alexander had to be lying to him. 

“What?” 

“You got casted as Sonny, John,” Alex blurted out. “And I as Usnavi.” 

John was silent for a moment more before his brain finally put two and two together. “Alexander, congratulations! Usnavi! You got the lead role, buddy!”

Alex let out a warm chuckle. “I’m aware John. Congratulations to you, my cousin, Sonny. Now get into our group chat, the boys got roles too.” 

~~~~~~~

From Laurens at 10:24pm  
WELCOME TO THE BARRIO, BOYS 

From Laf at 10:25pm  
Our petite lion must have told him the news. Congrats, mon ami! 

From Herc at 10:26pm  
I told you that you had nothing to worry about John. Voice of an angel is what you have! 

From A. Ham at 10:26pm  
He isn’t wrong there, John. 

From Laurens at 10:27pm  
HUSH. It’s probably a stroke of luck. What about you Laf, Herc? Benny and Piragua Guy! 

From Laf at 10:27pm  
Oui, I am very excited to put on all the charm I have learned in America over the years. 

From Herc at 10:28pm  
I’m actually very satisfied with Piragua Guy, because he’s in the background of a lot of scenes, and I get to compete with another guy for sales lmao I’ll fight him in the streets 

From Laurens at 10:29pm  
I don’t think you’ll be allowed to fight him, but out sing him-- you go, man! 

From A. Ham at 10:30pm  
Alright boys, this weekend. My house, popcorn, blankets, In the Heights soundtrack listen through. 

From Laf at 10:31pm  
Ooh! Like a… how you say, slumber party? I will bring the apple juice! 

From A. Ham at 10:32pm  
It’s not a slumber party, Laf.

From Herc at 10:33pm  
Alex, that sounds like a slumber party. Let’s all wear green shirts so we match up and we can’t get lost if we go anywhere 

From Laurens at 10:33pm  
Agreed, this is definitely a slumber party. I’m down 

From A. Ham at 10:34pm  
I swear, Hercules if you try to color coordinate us I will kick you out. 

From Herc at 10:36pm  
;) ;) ;) ;) 

From A. Ham at 10:36pm  
HERCULES MULLIGAN 

 

~~~~~~~~

“Eliza?” 

The voices felt so distant to Eliza. She was still standing next to her dresser, her sister's phone cold in her hand. _Vanessa; Maria Reynolds_. Eliza was crushed. That was the role that she had wanted more than anything, and there it was, assigned to another girl. What’s even worse was that Alexander got the lead role of Usnavi. It wasn’t bad that he got the role, but that this Maria girl would be his opposite in all of this. Maria was the one who would get to see Alexander progress in his role as he got more comfortable. 

Eliza let out a tiny sigh. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She wasn’t good enough for the lead female role. Not even close. 

“Carla isn’t bad, ‘Liza.” Peggy’s soft voice was comforting in the way a little sister’s voice ought to be. Eliza put on her best fake smile and handed Angelica her phone back. 

“Congratulations on Daniela,” wanting to avoid the topic of her own casting, she looked at Angie, who returned the look with a sympathetic hug. 

“I know you really wanted Vanessa, dear, but this is just how things worked out. And look on the bright side; you and I will get to work real close.” She gently kissed the side of her younger sister’s head, squeezing her one last time before letting her go. “It’s getting late, and we have a big day tomorrow. Let’s get some rest.” 

Eliza nodded and bid her sisters goodnight as they all went to their separate rooms. No matter how devastated Eliza felt over the fact that she didn’t get the role she wanted, she had to be thankful that she got any role at all. That’s how theater worked. Sometimes it disappoints you, but you can’t let it beat you. You have to persevere. 

And who knew, maybe Alexander and Eliza would be able to get a bit closer during all of the rehearsals and extra time spent together. Plus, John had made the cut too, so she knew that he would be the biggest support that she could have there. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe things would turn out just fine. Or, by some stroke of a miracle, something amazing would happen, and Eliza would get her shot again… 

As she crawled into bed that night, she knew exactly what she had to do. She had to persevere. No matter what. 

~~~~~~~~~

“So. This is the cast we’ve put together, is it?” The director stood up on the stage and smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. “Welcome to our first meeting, kids! And once again, thank you all for auditioning, with this big of a cast, this show is going to be a hit. We have big plans for it, yes we do! First, let’s all go around and introduce ourselves. You can say your name, as well as grade level, and then one reason you auditioned.” 

And so, they all went around the circle, each student did the same introduction. 

“Elizabeth Schuyler, senior, I love the theater and In the Heights.” 

“John Laurens, senior, I thought it would be a good way to end my high school career.” 

“Lafayette, senior, I wanted to try something new with my friends.” 

“Maria Reynolds, junior, the theater is what I live for.” 

“Thomas Jefferson. Senior. I wanted to audition.” (Wow, someone was a little upset with his casting decision.) 

“Hercules Mulligan, senior, same reason as Laf, actually.” 

“Angelica Schuyler, senior. I auditioned to support my sister.” 

“King George. Junior. I love being dramatic.” 

“Alexander Hamilton, senior. My friends forced me to.” 

A few giggles were shared as ensemble members shared their short stories (a few familiar faces could be spotted amongst the seats; Seabury, Lee, just to name a few). 

“Alright, I’m sure we have all forgotten half of our names already, but it’ll come a bit easier as rehearsals kick in. Now, onto the real business. It’s August ninth now. We will begin rehearsals on Monday. We will rehearse Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. This is a full scale commitment, so if any of you are not ready to commit your time, then please let me know and I will find someone to take your spot. 

“The show opens on March thirty-first, which is a Thursday, and we will close it on April twenty second, a Friday and the day before prom for those of you who are counting on that. There are a total of twelve performances scheduled, which is more than any production we have put on here at the school. Some will be during school for students, but most of them are evening performances, or ones on the weekend. Also, there is a two-show day, so that should be an adventure. 

“We are going to give everyone a copy of the script on Monday when we meet for rehearsal. As for Abuela Claudia, we are currently looking for an adult who will be willing to play her. We believe that would be a better move than to have any students do it. We will inform you once we have found a suitable woman to do the job. I would recommend getting a hold of the album this weekend and at least giving the songs a listen once. That way on Monday, we all know what the show is about. Are there any questions? No? Good.

“We will have photographers on the scene for our dress rehearsals when the show gets nearer, and before hand we are having posters made by a student's father who is very talented, and wants to do it all for free. Bless his kind soul. Costume manager will be taking measurements soon, and our goal is to have you all in costume before winter break, so that when we get back it can be as smooth sailing as possible. 

“Now, I think that’s about all I have to say for now, so, until Monday.” 

The director nodded and got off the stage, followed by a few of her ‘right hand people’. The students in the auditorium grabbed their bags and made for the door at different paces. The air was much less thick and tense. Much less. 

The boys were chatting about their plans for the night when a painstakingly familiar voice came into the space. 

“I’m not sure how good this production can get with this thing being our lead.” 

“Shut it, Jefferson.” Alexander snapped back. “I’m not in the mood to deal with you right now. We have plans, so we will be going.” 

Jefferson put a foot down on Alexander’s backpack as he tried to pick it up, putting both of his hands on his hips. “Oh, I’m sorry, is this yours?” 

“Jefferson, I swear to Go-” 

“Jefferson, let the kid alone, won’t you.” They all stopped, and Alexander had to refrain from giggling as Jefferson cringed. Their attention turned to the golden goddess in front of them. Angelica was shaking her head disapprovingly, tapping her foot against the floor, still waiting for Jefferson to remove his own foot. 

He did, and scoffed. “You know, Angelica, you don’t always have to play the peacemaker. You know you want to beat Alexander up just as much as the next person.”

She grinned in the most mocking manner and bent down to pick up a book that had dropped from Alex’s bag. “I can already do that whenever I want, see?” She punched his arm, causing him to let out a yelp. “You know why? Because he’s my friend. And I reserve the right to do that to him. You, however, do not, so move along.” By the end of her rant, Angelica was a few inches away from Jefferson’s face. He opened his mouth as if to say something, to protest again, but he quickly shut it and left without another word. 

“Thanks, Angelica,” Alexander mumbled as he rubbed his now sensitive arm. 

Angelica laughed, it was that vibrant laugh that could fill any room with color. “Oh anytime, Alexander.” 

“Hey, the boys and I are going to have a…” 

“Slumber party!” Lafayette interrupted Alexander, throwing his arms around excitedly. 

Alex rolled his eyes, “We are hanging out tonight at my place. We are going to listen to the soundtrack and have popcorn, and probably watch a movie afterwards. You are welcome to come. With your sisters of course. It’s a bit of a celebration.” 

Angie nodded slowly, smiling over at Lafayette who was chatting away to Hercules about their ‘slumber party’. “I would love to come. I’ll have to run it by Eliza, who seems to have disappeared on me…” it dawned on Angelica that she hadn’t seen her sister since the director dismissed them and she ran off on her own. “I’m sure she would love to come. And I know Peggy wouldn’t pass up a chance to be with Laf,” 

Alexander raised his eyebrows at her, lowering his voice to ask; “You think Peggy might like Laf?” 

“Oh, please, I know that she likes Lafayette. You should have seen the way her face lit up last night when I was reading the cast list to her and she found out that Laf got Benny. The girl is crazy for him.” Angelica leaned in closer to Alex. “Don’t tell her or him that I told you, though.”

Alexander smirked, shaking his head slightly. “I hope to see you there,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas. Not everything can go as we all want it to. But don't worry, this story is far from over, and I have huge plans for our little Eliza. And... well, everyone else. Until the next chapter! 
> 
> I won't be touching this slumber party in the next chapter. Just know that they all go over, listen to the soundtrack, and drink a lot of apple juice, supplied by Laf and Herc. And yes, Herc does color coordinate them all. That tailor.


	6. No Me Diga!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month into rehearsals and things are starting to shape up for some students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what a time it's been since this was updated. I fell into a fit of writers block on this one, though that's no real excuse. Anywho, enjoy this, as I shift my brain back into the Hamil-Heights mood!
> 
> I would like to quickly say a thank you to everyone who commented on the last chapter, even as I wasn't updating the story. It really pushed me to want to get back into this one, and get the train moving again. So, this chapter is partially a product of you all! Thank you so much.

Eliza smiled proudly as she listened to her sister try and conquer the ‘Spanish attitude’ that their vocal director wanted her to show off. Obviously Angelica was _not_ Spanish, but watched her fall in and out of the accent made Eliza giggle inwardly. Theodosia was doing her best as well to keep in her fits of laughter while Angie and the coach (Mr Anderson) moved to the piano for a bit more one-on-one help.

Angelica, Eliza, Theodosia, and Maria were all sitting in the choir room together, spending a few minutes rehearsing _No Me Diga_ while the boys on stage went over a few of their scenes together. The past month had flown by, and the production was getting into full swing, with choreography being given more frequently, directors giving rapid fire corrections, and musical numbers being strung together (slowly, but surely). With all the time they had been given, it was nice for the students and show managers to take their time and really dive into the material of the show.

Eliza had since accepted her role, and was slowly beginning to love it more and more each day. Carla was, by no means, a terrible character to be casted as. After the initial let down and shock of the auditions, Eliza allowed herself to really indulge in Carla and see what she was like, despite already knowing what she had before. She was loving the innocent, fun loving, curious attitude that Carla had, and even the slight ignorance that floated over her head all the time. 

Plus, another upside was working so closely to Angelica. Her dearest sister was such a kind soul and did everything in her power to make sure that Eliza was having fun on stage, no matter what they were doing. Sitting in the salon, acting as though they were doing something salon-y? Angelica would crack silent jokes to make her sister giggle more genuinely. Gossiping in Usnavi’s store about Julio and José getting together? Angelica would put on the most grand display of gossiping Eliza had ever seen. 

It was nice. 

“You want me to do what?” Angelica practically yelled from her place on the other side of the piano as the instructor laughed, explaining one more how her accent should flow. 

“How do you think the boys are doing?” Theodosia asked quietly, glancing up from her phone to watch the proceedings. 

“Well, if they’re learning choreography, then it’s probably a mess. If they’re running lines, it’s probably a mess. Okay regardless, it’s probably a mess,” Maria let out a soft chuckle and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Eliza nodded, begrudgingly agreeing with her.

“I hate to admit it, but…” she elbowed Maria playfully. “You’re probably right.” 

The three dissolved into cheery giggles, each taking the chance to check their phones once again. Rehearsals weren’t typically a time for their devices, but they would sneak a few peaks here and there when the time felt right. Well, right enough. 

“Alright, girls, I think she has it now. Let’s do this one more time from the top and then I’ll send you back out.” Mr Anderson nodded, giving Angelica an encouraging smile. 

The trio of girls stifled their laughter again as Angelica launched them into the song, following their teacher’s conducting. 

“Gorgeous!” 

~~~~~~~~

“Yo, does my tie look straight?” The girls heard a man ask, perfect English accent and all, as they entered the auditorium. 

“Benny you look the same as every day. Quit trying to impress Nina.” On stage Alexander rolled his eyes, fiddling with a cup on top of their makeshift counter. Lafayette straightened his fake tie again, and Laurens moved behind him, catching a whiff and making a sour face. 

“Whoo, you need to impress some Old Spice under those arms.” Eliza giggled, watching Lafayette glare at John, who shrunk away slightly, arms thrown up in defense. The combination of boys on the stage were simply adorable together. John and Alexander played off of each other in the best possible ways. Lafayette confided in Eliza last week that he was having _way too much_ fun playing Benny, and that he wouldn’t mind speaking with an American accent from there on out (Eliza had laughed at him, shoving his milkshake out of his hand and onto the floor). They were such great friends, and the fact that they had this opportunity to be sharing the stage like this made Eliza’s heart swell slightly. 

“Either one of you Rockefellers wanna take this business off my hands?” Eliza tuned back in to Alexander throwing a paper down on the counter, giving Laf and John a displeased glare.

“Heck no.” John scoffed, turning away. 

“Naw, I’m cool.” 

“I didn’t think so.” A few giggles emerged from the auditorium, where other cast members were sitting and observing. The majority of the kids were probably off in the dance room, Eliza realized, learning new choreography for _96,000_. That was their next number being worked on, hence the reason the boys were going over the scene that led into it. 

“96,000!” Alexander gawked, holding out their fake lotto ticket. 

“Cut, boys! That was good.” The director called from her spot in the audience. The three boys on stage high fived and made their way down, immediately spotting the freshly returned girls. 

“Hello ladies!” Lafayette’s french charm was back in full swing. “How were the vocals?” 

“Wonderful!” Theodosia pipped up. “Our girl Maria here can really hit those high notes, let me tell you.” She shook her head bashfully, locking eyes with Alexander who delivered her a warming smile. 

The exchange left Eliza feeling colder than it should have. Her dearest friend must have seen the shift in her attitude and threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling Eliza in for a tight hug. 

“Ow, John, you’re…” Eliza jabbed his stomach. “Squeezing me to death!” Her laughter was light and airy as John released her, putting on a face of mock hurt. 

“I thought my hugs were your main source of life, Elizabeth?” John held a hand over his heart. “I am hurt. Deeply, deeply hurt.”

Alexander laughed loudly, putting a hand on his hip, finally seeming to emerge from the bubble that he and Maria had locked themselves in. “John Laurens, giving _pleasant_ hugs? What is this? Definitely not reality.” 

Laurens glared at him hastily. “I’ll have you know that I give the best hugs on this side of the country. Eliza will vouch for me.” 

Oh no. Why did John have to drag her into this? 

Alexander laughed again, leaning down to put his hands on his knees, dramatically gasping for air. “John, my dear boy. Eliza has not lived until today.” 

This caused Eliza to burrow her brow in curiosity until she felt a thick heat surround her and a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She suddenly felt deathly lightheaded. This couldn’t be happening--her body couldn’t be pressed this closely to Alexander’s, his arms wrapped so protectively around her. She could feel him tug her closer, feel him bury his face in her shoulder, even if it was for a millisecond. She felt as though she were floating on a cloud. She hugged back, and then felt his presence vanish as quickly as it had arrived. 

She blinked blankly and then cleared her throat realizing how dumb she must have looked. “Well, Alexander does give quite the hug,” she mumbled, avoiding any eye contact with Alex.

Nothing but laughter filled the air from her friends, who continued on chatting happily. She still refused to meet Alexander’s face, knowing that he would probably think Eliza was crazy for acting that way. 

~~~~~~~~~

To Laurens at 1:32am  
John, help me. I am having an identity crisis. 

At 1:33am  
I don’t know what to think about myself anymore. 

At 1:34am  
She was so warm, John. So very warm. Who knew she felt as gentle as she looks. 

At 1:35am  
Not that she looks frail. She seems like the kind of girl who would beat up another girl if they swung first. But she’s so easy to hug, that was one of the best hugs I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. 

At 1:36am  
Help me, dear Laurens. I am lost. I am alone. I am fragile. 

At 1:37am  
Do you think she thought the same thing, John? Maybe she thinks I give terrible hugs, she was just putting on a show for our friends. That’s what it was. 

At 1:38am  
She’s so very good at acting, I wouldn’t be surprised. She could pull something as simple as that off with such ease. Like the ease at which an angel moves through the clouds. 

At 1:40am  
I have come to two conclusions. One is that Elizabeth Schuyler gives magnificent hugs. Two is that you are no help to me, John Laurens. No help. 

19 Messages received. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“Alexander are you kidding me right now?” John practically threw his phone at the smaller boy when he entered his car the next morning. “ _This_ is what I wake up to?”

Alexander caught the phone in the knick of time and shrugged. “I was seeking your help, John. You were no help at all.” John groaned, and put the car into drive. 

“She gives great hugs, I know, Alexander. There’s no need to send me the equivalence of an entire research paper through text message to let me know.” 

“I can’t help it. It’s how I express myself.” Alex unlocked John’s phone, scrolling through the messages he had sent the previous night. He gasped. “My punctuation is terrible in this one.” 

“Oh my _God_ , Alex!” 

~~~~~~~~~ 

“How are you enjoying being a techie, Pegster?” Angelica asked her youngest sister at the table while they each ate their specially picked cereals. 

“I’ve been loving it! James and I have been getting along so well, especially since we started building the set. Talk about fun time--imagine being able to throw paint at you friends while you color a bodega door!” Peggy was buzzing with delight as she spoke, emphasizing her pleasure with a few waves of her spoon.

“James, as in Thomas’ little friend?” Eliza asked curiously, putting her box of cereal down on the table next to her. She always liked to read the back of the box and play whatever cheesy games were painted on it, no matter how childish they were. It was a sort of tradition for her in the morning. 

“That’s the one! James Madison.” Peggy confirmed, nodding her head enthusiastically. “He’s very shy at first, but very sweet once you get to know him. He brought me a muffin the other day because I mentioned the day before that poppy seed muffins were my weakness.” 

Her sisters chuckled, giving her a look of amusement. “Your weakness, eh?” 

Peggy blushed, suddenly losing interest in the topic of her techie affairs. Lucky for her, Angelica had other matters to discuss. “So, ‘Liza.” 

“Hm?”

“Hamilton gives nice hugs, huh?” 

“Whaaaat?” Peggy slammed her spoon down on the table. “You got a hug from Hamilton? And I’m just now hearing about it? You know just because I’m backstage doesn't mean you have to keep secrets from me now!” 

Eliza immediately turned red, putting her face into her hands. The feeling of Alexander’s arms came back to her and she shook her head. “He was just trying to prove a point to John, Peggy, it’s not a big deal.” 

“Yes, but he used you as the test subject, my dear.” Angelica interjected before spooning another spoonful of sugary cereal into her mouth.

“Only because John had to open his big mouth…” her voice shrunk slightly, though she was ultimately in appreciation for what John said. After all, it gave her a few seconds of the best hug she’d ever received. “Not that I… minded.”

Peggy squealed, standing up to give her sister a hug on the other side of the table. “It’s a step in the right direction, Eliza! Baby steps!” The blush on her cheeks was relentless, and Eliza silently cursed having such nosey sisters. 

Oh, but she knew that she loved them more than anything in this life. 

~~~~~~~~

Lunch time rolled around and kids flooded into the cafeteria, lining up with food on their minds. Angelica and Peggy went inside to get their food while Eliza stayed outside, sitting on their usual picnic table. She was currently absorbed into her phone, playing some pointless game with tiny villagers. 

_I’ll name this one… Renée. Yeah, that’s what you look like._ Her thoughts soared in the game as she gathered berries, cleared the sandy shores of debris, and even researched into opening a school on her island. Life was easier for her small villagers. She envied them greatly. They didn’t have to deal with boy drama, or production stress, or siblings meddling in their business. They could all walk around carefree, speaking in a made up language about their days. 

_You’ll have a baby with… Jonathan. Yeah, that works, I bet your baby won’t be too ugly._ While Eliza loved the simplicity of the game, she knew that the pixelated babies that were created were nothing short of hideous. It was one of the only flaws she saw in the program. But boy way it huge when she had to look at those ugly babies for hours until they matured into teens. 

A faint giggle escaped Eliza’s lips as she shook her head at the villagers falling over each other to try and collect more berries off of the tree. It’s amazing what small things could interest Eliza for long periods of time. 

“Eliza?” 

Oh crap. 

“Good afternoon, Alexander,” Eliza greeted politely, knowing all too well who the voice belonged to. She shut the game off and turned to find a… nervous looking Alexander staring back at her? “Are you alright?” 

“Oh, yes. Indeed. I’m fine.” he rocked back and forth on his heels, one of his hands reaching up to pull a strand of loose hair, a habit Eliza has come to know as a nervous one. 

A very… awkward silence filled the air in that moment. Alex, standing there playing with his hair and doing all he possibly could to avoid eye contact with Eliza. And Eliza sitting on the bench, staring down at Alexander’s shoes. She felt slightly ashamed for not putting more effort into maintaining a conversation, but he had come over with a clear reason. Or… maybe not? Judging by his efforts now maybe he had just wanted to say hi to her. 

“I heard you and the girls singing yesterday. With Mr Anderson. I went and took a break to go to the bathroom and I stopped outside the door on the way back. You all sounded wonderful together.” _You all sounded wonderful together. He’s not just complimenting you, Eliza, he’s just point out that you were all doing a nice job the other day._

“Thank you,” her voice was much more quiet than she had intended it to be, and Eliza cringed mentally. Whatever awkward bug that was floating in the air, Eliza was only encouraging to fly faster. 

Once again, silence between the two ensued. Students around them were chatting endlessly about topics that Eliza could care less about. In front of her still was a very timid looking Alexander, and he was never anything other than confident, loud, obnoxiously loud- 

Yet there he was. Still playing with his hair. Still saying nothing. Eliza began to contemplate getting up and finding her sisters, telling Alexander that she needed to go see if they needed any help, but those thought were quickly vanished from her as Alexander finally spoke up again. 

“I would like you to know that you give very nice hugs and your shampoo is wonderful.” With that said, he turned on a dime and left Eliza there, almost clueless as to what had just come out of his mouth. Did he just say… no. Eliza must have heard it wrong. But then again, he was relatively clear in meaning. 

Alexander Hamilton liked her hugs. He said they were nice. He said her shampoo was nice, which means he thinks her hair smells nice. Anybody else would have been bothered, if not disturbed to think that someone had taken the time to smell their hair and proceed to comment on it. But that was who Alexander was. Made bold comments and then didn’t feel any regret afterwards. 

Eliza breathed in deeply. 

_His hair smelled nice, too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How out of character for Alexander Hamilton to be so nervous! Does that mean something?? Maybe? Maybe not?! Guess you'll find out soon! And we still haven't heard about who is taking on Abuela! That's because they haven't found anyone to do it yet! Sooooon enough, though. 
> 
> The next chapter should be longer, and will definitely include some outside interactions between multiple characters who have been mentioned but not really explored yet. What fun! I'm excited! 
> 
> Until next chapter! 
> 
> -Ki


	7. Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alexander has quite the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all are angels. I have no excuses. But good news is, I take my last two finals on Tuesday, and then I am free to write more frequently. Thank you all so much for sticking with me on this story. It continues to be so much fun to write, and I am so glad that you all are enjoying it so so much. 
> 
> I didn't intend for it to end this way, but it's an Alexander day, so here we are. 
> 
> Slight warning: panic attacks. That's all I will say. Read carefully, friends.

Eliza let out a quiet yawn, flipping through the pages of her Economics textbook, vaguely trying to recall the number her teacher had spouted out before sending the kids on their own to take notes. The students around her seemed to have been present throughout the lesson and quickly pulled out their notebooks and started taking notes. Some kids threw their earbuds in-- a luxury their teacher wasn’t supposed to give, but did anyway, thankfully-- while other kids went about mouthing words silently to themselves. 

Eliza couldn’t will herself to think about anything relevant in the moment, her mind always wandered the most during classes she disliked. That was probably a problem she should work on, but who really benefits from it? She still passes the classes with flying colors, and she gets to daydream in the best state of mind with little to no interruptions. 

At the moment, Eliza was consumed in Alexander’s eyes. What else was new? Those deep brown eyes that held so many secrets within them. Eliza wanted so desperately to unlock them, to see what Alexander held nearest and dearest to his heart. She wanted to have nights alone with Alex, rubbing her thumbs underneath his tired eyes, lulling him to sleep until he was snoring soundly against her, pulling her infinitely closer in his search for warmth. She would happily oblige, letting him cuddle up against her for as long as he wanted. 

No, that could never happen. Alexander didn’t feel that way about her. But ever since their hug a few days prior, Eliza couldn’t help but feel… different around him. Like the atmosphere was tense, yet calming. He had stopped by their lunch table a few times, growing increasingly nervous whenever he spoke to Eliza: sometimes more than others. Though, it was _just_ a hug. There wasn’t much behind it, of course. Alex had been trying to prove a point to their friends, and it surely must have done the job. That fact alone, though, wouldn’t deter Eliza from hoping. 

“Eliza?” 

A quiet, soft voice broke her from her trance and she looked over to the girl sitting next to her. Eliza smiled gently, turning slightly in her chair to give the girl--Amanda-- her full attention. 

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to see if you were alright.” Amanda says hushly. “You seemed to be really out of it.” 

Eliza scolded herself for having been so lost in thought. “I’m alright. I have a lot going through my mind, that’s all. Thank you for wondering, though.” 

Amanda grins very shyly, nodding her head. Her brown curls bounced playfully around her face, and her blue eyes were so gentle with care. “How is the show going?” 

“Wonderful, it’s really coming along for what we have done so far.” 

“That’s good, that’s good.” Amanda muses, flipping the page in her book and dually writing down a note. “Page two hundred thirty three.” Upon Eliza’s silence, Amanda gave her a side glance. “That’s what page we’re on. In case you’d like to at least look like you’re doing work if the teacher walks by.” 

Eliza lets out a breathy giggle and smiles gratefully at her classmate. She flips the page open, puts a pencil in her hand, and promptly goes back to daydreaming. 

~~~~~~~~~

 

“I swear, Laf, this rule of ‘one semester of gym per year’ is the dumbest rule I have ever heard of.”

“Oh, Alexander,” Lafayette cooes as he pulls his shirt up over his head. “You are just upset because you aren’t, how you say, in shape?” 

“Lafayette, you know damn well how to say things in English, stop acting so innocent!” Alex snaps at him, rolling his eyes in a less than affectionate way. 

Once again, Laf cooes, covering his bare chest with the Rev High t-shirt that all students were required to wear during gym. “Je ne sais pas ce que vous parlez.”

“If you ladies don’t hurry up we’re going to be late, and I don’t want to be thrown onto some crappy team for ultimate frisbee.” Hercules called to them, already leaving through the locker room door. Laurens was ahead of him. Alexander quickly pulled on his shirt and checked his phone one last time before leaving it in his backpack and putting it in his locker. 

Lafayette held the door open for Alex, and bowed when he walked by, earning a hard punch in the arm. Their walk to the football field was short, down a few hallways and out into the parking lot, then across the way and threw the open gate. His classmates were all gathered in a big circle, not yet having begun the choosings. It was a bright Wednesday afternoon, a block day at the school which meant that students had three classes, all two hours long. So Wednesday were the days that all the PE classes got together and did some grand activity. All the boys did something and all the girls typically did something else. And on that day, the boys were all playing ultimate frisbee together. 

As soon as all the boys were joined in a circle, their coaches announced that they would be split into multiple games to accommodate for their sheer numbers (almost seventy in all, a cumulation of three classes). Once they were split up, team captains needed to be elected (Jefferson and Lafayette volunteered in their group), and the choosings began. One by one, boys were called to opposite sides where their captains stood. Jefferson snagged Madison, not because he was good at sports, but because the two were oddly close and they would most likely spend their time chatting it up with each other instead of actually playing. Laf quickly jumped on Hercules, proclaiming that the strongest man needed to be on his team. Jefferson stole Laurens (making Alex curse under his breath), and Laf chose Alex. Afterwards, extra boys were added until each team had about ten kids each. 

Alexander felt rather confident in his team, consisting of a few physically inclined boys, and Aaron Burr. He had been one of the last people to be chosen, but Laf was actually kind of fond of the kid. As soon as rules were rattled off and a frisbee was handed to Jefferson, whose team would start with it first, the crowd fanned out and the game began. 

Alex ran off, coincidentally in the same direction as Aaron, and he just couldn’t resist. 

“Aaron Burr, sir!”

Aaron suppressed an eye roll. “I’m not sure why you call me that, Alexander, I’m younger than you by a few months.” 

Alexander shrugged, searching the field for where the frisbee was. Clear on the other side, so he and Aaron were free to chat for a minute. “It suits your stature, I believe. Are you enjoying the show?” 

“Quite a bit,” Aaron hummed, immediately knowing what Alex was referring to. The two had hardly talked since rehearsals began; not any more than they needed to. “I never could have thought that I’d be casted, let alone in _this_ roll. But Graffiti Pete is pretty nice. Once you get past the, you know, Graffiti artist part.” 

“But hey, he’s credited in the end with keeping Usnavi at home, you know.” Alexander pointed out, placing a hand on his hip. 

“Indeed he is, I suppose.” A shout came from the other side as Lafayette leaped into the air and grabbed the frisbee from in front of another student. “How are you enjoying your role? Memorizing lines been a hassle?” 

A snort escaped Alexander’s lips and he shook his head. “No, lines have been really easy, actually. I’m pretty sure I could recite most of the script by now. I read through it at least twice a day, and I sing--well rap--through all of my songs multiple times. It’s been a lot of fun, getting to know Usnavi, you know?”

Aaron nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing more. Alexander took that as a sign to keep talking. 

“You know, I’ve enjoyed getting to yell at you onstage during those scenes where you’re trying to sell shirts to me, which are terrible shirts by the way, and awful sales pitches. Get your life together, Burr.” As Alexander rambled, he failed to notice the girls PE class walking onto the track. They began making circuits in little clusters of friends. “I think the set design for this is so ambitious for a high school play, don’t you think? And twelve shows! That’s more than we’ve ever had, this show had better be good in order to pay back the amount of money they have taken out for it. I have confidence, though, in our stage design and techies. They’re gonna make this thing so worth it. 

“What do you think of the women, Burr? I think we have quite the cast of women leaders. The boys are great and all, but I think the women are going to be what makes this production stand out. Maria is a killer Vanessa, she amazes me every time we step on stage together. Angelica, the angel that she is, is hilarious as Daniela. Her accent still needs some work though. Eliza is the cutest little Carla I have ever seen. Well, she’s cute in general, but-” 

“You think Eliza is cute?” 

Alexander stopped, briefly surprised that Aaron spoke up. “I…” Did he say that outloud? No, he said she was the cutest Carla, not cute overall. “I said she’s the cutest Carla. Which she is.” 

“And then you said she’s cute in general.” Burr concluded, rubbing his hands together. “It’s okay if you think so, I mean, it’s obvious to see that-” 

“No, Burr you don’t- wait, obvious to see what?” 

“I was just going to say that she really seems to-” 

“Burr are you trying to tell me-” 

“I’d be able to if you quit interrupting me!” Alexander flushed when Burr stomped his foot on the ground, resembling the actions of a small child. 

In the moments to come, three things happened at one time. 

Number one: Alexander so happened to glance behind Aaron and see Eliza walking along the track with a few of her friends. The two of them locked eyes, and she gave him a soft smile, waving sweetly in his direction. 

Number two: Aaron Burr told him something that came across incoherently, and Alexander wanted to ask him to repeat whatever it was, but he found himself waving back at Eliza instead, a goofy smile gracing his lips. 

Number three: He heard his name called shrilly from across the field, before he felt a piercing pain in the back of his head. The frisbee smacked him and bounced off, falling perfectly into Aaron’s open hands. Alexander fell forward, hands reaching back to cradle the dull pain in his head. 

When he stood up again, he searched around to see John (and others) doubled over laughing some way across the field. Alex shot him his best glare and turned back to Eliza who motioned with her hands to her head. He shot her a thumbs up and turned away, trying to hide the blush that crept onto his cheeks. What a day this was turning into. 

~~~~~~~ 

Lunch time rolled around after gym and Alexander wanted nothing more than to go home and lay in bed. Not only did he embarrass himself in front of all the boys in his gym class (surely there would be endless stories to those not in his class, too) but he also managed to look like an idiot in front of Eliza and countless other girls. Normally, than kind of thing wouldn’t affect him, but Alexander Hamilton was not a fool, or a loser. Having failed at ultimate frisbee, well… Alex was having a hard time accepting it. 

He sat in relative silence at their lunch table, hardly looking up from his phone when someone addressed him. He had already gotten his fair share of poking from John, Mulligan, and Laf, and he knew it was unlikely to cease anytime soon. Oh, and of course, there was another person who just couldn’t be left out of the equation. 

“How’s your head feeling, Hamilton?” 

Alexander quit typing immediately and frowned, shaking his head. He did not need this right now. 

“Quite fine, Jefferson.” Then he added sharply, “Thanks for asking.” 

“Oh, of course,” Hamilton could feel a cool hand touch his shoulders and he shook it off, finally looking up from his phone to make eye contact with a smirking Thomas. “Just wanted to be sure your injuries wouldn’t be too much. Would hate for you to have to… I don’t know, _quit the show_ or anything like that.” 

“Stop being a sour puss because you got Kevin, Jefferson. You know you never stood a chance at Usnavi.” The words were laced with venom. 

“Yes, well,” Thomas cleared his throat. “At least I know how to catch a frisbee. Think fast!” Just then, Jefferson threw his sandwich wrapper at Hamilton, who didn’t duck away fast enough before it hit him straight on the nose. Before he could fire off a strongly worded response, Jefferson was gone, laughing to himself and James Madison (had he been there the whole time?) in the direction of the school building. Alexander groaned and allowed his head to hit the table. 

“When will this day be over?” His voice was directed at nobody in particular. 

~~~~~~~~

To top it all off, of course everything that could have gone wrong during rehearsal went wrong. Most of the kids were together onstage for 96,000 when it happened. Minutes before, Alexander had forgotten half of his lines in the scene leading up to the song, and then when it started he just… wasn’t in it. His mind was everywhere except for the music. It was the first time that they had run the number with full ensemble and choreography, and it felt slightly overwhelming to Alex. But, he needed to be in it, they needed him to confidently stride around the stage, knowing exactly what to do. It started out okay, Lafayette nailing his part perfectly, but as ensemble members came trickling in, the stage became more crowded. 

When the actual dancing started to kick in, and Alexander finished his small bit of rapping about lists of ambitions, he bumped into a girl, stepping on her foot by accident. He shot her the most apologetic look he could muster in character and she gave him a reassuring smile in return before going back to her spacing.

Not even ten seconds later did Alexander trip over himself while doing a bit of choreography and he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. It was dull enough to where he could continue without much interruption, but the shooting feeling that it sent up his leg intensified his breathing. It was coming out in spurts, more erratic than it should have been. So far, the number hadn’t even been that physically taxing. This breathing was different. It shouldn’t have been so thick and labored.

The song went on, and he cued Maria is as he was supposed to. As her voice filled his ears, he could feel his hands beginning to shake at his side, and he tried his best to subdue it, trying desperately to stay in character. Lafayette’s hand fell on his shoulder and Alex flinched slightly, but went along with it, realizing that it was almost his moment to start rapping again. 

The beat of the song thumped against his eardrum, the vibrations sending sparks into his brain. He had seconds to pull it together, seconds until his voice needed to be heard, loud and clear. But the thumping, the pounding in his head. Why did it sound like wind? Why did it resemble trees hitting a window? Why were the lights so bright on him? Why was the air cold, even though the lights were beating down mercilessly on his skin?

Alexander stopped moving all at once, feeling (and vaguely watching) the world spin by around him, as students continued dancing. 

_This can’t be happening,_ Alexander something hit his shoulder firmly. A hand? A boulder? Hail? 

_I can’t be having an attack now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not every chapter can end really happy. Whoops. I've also seen this happen before, somebody getting into this state of mind during rehearsals. It's not fun to see or have happen to you. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoyed! I look forward to reading your comments. As usual, thank you so much and I will respond to all of you if you have any questions! Or even if you don't. 
> 
> Until next time!


	8. Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of the day, maybe things aren't so bad. Well, for Alexander, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWO chapters in ONE weekend?! What is this?! This is me having time and being in a good writing mood. Yes, yes, enjoy this chapter!

John was the first to see it happen. He was the first to catch the fleeting changes in Alexander’s composure. The way his eyes darted back and forth with a lack of focus when Lafayette began his solo. John didn’t do anything, didn’t break character to see that Alexander was okay; he couldn’t do that, not during their first run of the song. So, John kept his mind in the music, while occasionally passing a glance toward his best friend. 

He finished his solo and felt Maria’s hand on his shoulders as she called him ‘so cute’, then muttered “I was just thinkin’ off the top of my head.” In the moment where Alexander stepped up to cue Maria in, he knew this wasn’t going to go away. Though, all he could do was pray that Alex would make it through the climax of the song and be able to get himself under control afterward. 

That thought was officially thrown out the window when Lafayette started to sing, and the melodies began to pile on top of each other, and Alexander didn’t join in when he was supposed to. It was in that moment that John knew he needed to step up. One turn and he saw Alex standing completely still, Lafayette looking at him with concern, having lost all shreds of his character. He was motioning wildly to the director, who quickly signaled for the music to be turned off. 

It went silent, except for the sounds of labored breathing from the dancers on stage. People were confused, looking around until they saw their star standing almost on center stage, his eyes wide and his hand over his chest. John was at his side in seconds. He was the only person --save for Martha and George, of course--who had ever seen Alexander having a panic attack, so John was the best equipped to deal with the situation. 

“What’s going on?” their director called, making her way up the stairs at the side of the stage. Students were beginning to crowd around Alex, who still stood unresponsively. 

John’s hand gripped his shoulder firmly and he pulled Alexander very gently, trying to make him feel something. “He’s having a panic attack,” came John’s breathless reply. “Back up, please, he needs space!” Students backed away and John brought a hand up to Alexander’s cheek, trying to see Alex’s eyes. They were blank and hardly blinking. “I’m gonna take him to the bathroom.” 

Without another word, John led Alex slowly out through the wings and the stage door, but not before he heard the director call for a five minute break. 

Once in the bathroom, John leaned Alexander up against the bathroom sink and let his hand hold his best friend’s cheek longer while he whispered, “Alexander, it’s me. It’s John. I’m right here, you’re in the bathroom with me.” That got no response, but he kept at it, calmly stroking the skin near his temples with his thumb. “We were in rehearsal, do you remember?” 

Alexander mumbled something under his breath, much too quiet for John to hear or understand. He didn’t press on. A response, no matter what it was, was better than nothing. He continued asking questions, speaking kindly to the broken boy. At some point a few boys came in, but promptly left when they saw the scene unfolding in front of them. John couldn’t pay any mind to them, he simply kept talking: kept whispering. 

Alex closed his eyes, starting to shake slightly, clenching his hands into fists at his side. “No, no, no…” he mumbled under his breath, repeatedly. 

“Hey, open up for me,” John’s voice was level, soothing, collected even as he watched his best friend unfold at the seams. “You aren’t alone. I’m here.” 

“Alexander?” a deep voice graced John’s ears and he let out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding.

“Mr Washington, sir, he’s right here.” John didn’t break away from his friend, didn’t even turn to look at his foster dad entering the room. “He’s been like this for about ten minutes now, it happened during a dance number.” 

George was at his side in a moment, gesturing for John to give him the reins. “Go back in and explain to your director what’s going on,” John was hesitant, but knew better than to not listen to Washington, especially when he was in ‘dad mode’. 

“Alexander, listen to me.” He began firmly. “You’re safe. Nothing is wrong, you’re with me.” Alex continued to mumble quietly to himself, and Washington gripped at his arm. “Son, open your eyes.”

With a sharp intake of air, Alexander started blinking wildly. His initial reaction was to back away, shoving at the presence in front of him, but as soon as he realized who it was he retracted on himself. It took him a second to realize where he was. His breathing was still frantic and uneven, but at least his shaking had stopped. 

“Where… Where am I?” he asked, feeling the cold counter under the palms of his hands. “Dad?” 

“You had a panic attack during rehearsal. John brought you in here so you could calm down.” 

“ _During rehearsal_?” Alex let his head fall back, an annoyed grunt leaving his mouth. “Of course. Of course! First frisbee, then Jefferson, then my math test, now this. How embarrassing, I can’t-”

“You’ve had quite the day, huh?” Washington straightened out his son’s shirt collar, helping him compose what little dignity he felt remained. “We can go home. I was about to leave anyway and you could use a break. I’ll take you home and Martha will make you some soup and you can rest. We know you haven’t been sleeping again.” 

Alexander felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Of course they knew, Martha and George always knew everything. Martha in particular. She was able to pick out feelings like it was nobody's business, and she was even better at picking out illnesses before they happened. And as tempting as her soup sounded, Alexander wasn’t going to allow this to hurt his cast. It was his fault that he couldn’t keep it together, they shouldn’t have to struggle now because of him. 96,000 was a huge song that would require a lot of practice and patience. Alexander needed to be there.

“No, I have to go back in there,” Alex turned himself around and frowned when he found his eyes red and puffy. He hadn’t even been crying, had he? “I have to be there for the cast.” 

“Son, you’re weak-” 

“But I’m awake.” He straightened out his collar one more time, and turned back to George, who held none other than the signature disappointed dad look. “It’s just an hour more.” Alexander said it to reassure himself more than George. Trying to do things, especially things that involved immense brainpower and physical energy, right after an attack was not the smartest idea. Yet, Alexander wouldn’t let this day get the best of him. He just needed to make it through the next hour and then he would be able to go home, lay in bed, and write for as long as he wanted. 

George stood in silence, but nodded starkly. “You tell John if anything, and I mean _anything_ , Alexander, feels wrong. I’m going to stay and watch, and then I will take you home with me.”

Alex nodded weakly, and sighed. He began making his way out of the bathroom door, but stopped to turn around and give his dad a strong hug. He strode out the door quickly thereafter. 

As soon as he stepped out of the wings and back onto the stage, the auditorium went silent. All eyes were on him and Alexander did his best to hold his head up high and his breath steady. 

“I’d like to apologize. For you all having to see that,” 

“It’s okay, Alexander!” A girl, one of the ensemble members named Kristal, stood up and made her way to the foot of the stage. “Are you okay?” 

“I am now.” He nodded, reaching a hand out for the girl to grab. He hoisted her onto the stage and she slung an arm over his shoulder kindly. “Are you okay to keep going?” Alex nodded once more. “Then let’s get to it!” 

Her enthusiasm and kindness was warming and Alexander smiled brightly, watching as castmates stood from their chairs and a few techies reset the scene. The director asked him quietly if he was really okay to try again, and Alexander responded swiftly, saying that he was positive. Kids trickled back into the wings and Lafayette and John took their spots on stage near the bodega counter. 

Alexander forced himself to make eye contact with John, who was smiling softly at him. 

“Thanks, John.” 

“Anytime, man,” 

Needless to say, after that, Alexander performed 96,000 with more energy than the rest of his cast combined. 

~~~~~~~~

George had taken him home, their car ride filled with blank silence. He wasn’t angry, but he wasn’t ecstatic either that Alexander had chosen to stay and rehearse. Though, he couldn’t help but feel the swell of pride that radiated in his chest when he saw his son on stage, acting as though nothing had gone wrong mere minutes before. The boy was a trooper. 

When they got home Martha was waiting in the front yard, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping patiently on the stone ground. Relief washed over her face when Alexander stepped out of the car and waved to her. She enveloped him into a hug as soon as he was close enough. 

“My little boy,” she mused, kissing the top of his head. “I’m so happy you’re home. We’ll be having homemade pizza for dinner.” She continued to pepper small kisses in his hair until Alex squirmed away. 

“Okay, mom, enough with the kisses,” he was giggling when Martha placed one more kiss on his head and then leaned up to kiss her husband sweetly. Alex made an ‘ew’ noise and stalked off to his bedroom, leaving his parents to their own devices. 

He got up to his room and shut the door, flopping down onto his bed with a loud, exasperated sigh. His backpack and shoes had been abandoned at the door. His bed was warm and comforting, and his pillow was too enticing to step away from. Alex drew his phone from his pocket and plugged it into the charger near his bed, before slipping under the cover for a short nap. 

Thing is, Alexander did _not_ take a short nap at all, he ended up sleeping until seven o’clock, a full two hours after he had gotten home. He awoke to the sweet scent of bread filling the air in his room, and he rose begrudgingly from his bed. He didn’t bother to check his phone, knowing that almost every text would most likely be related to his attack. 

Downstairs in the kitchen, George was typing away on his laptop, and Martha was pulling the second pizza out of the oven, humming quietly to herself. They were the picture of a happy married couple--Martha, who loved to cook, making her way around the kitchen, passing loving glances to her husband from across the room. And George who was presumably working on his laptop, asking Martha little questions here and there, admiring the way that she flowed so effortlessly. 

Alexander stood in the doorway, beginning to space out when Martha noticed him and made a surprised “oh!” sound. She giggled and tapped George on the shoulder, who looked up and smiled when he saw the boy standing with a dazed look on his face. 

“Sweetie,” Martha began sweetly, opening her arms for Alexander to come hug her. He complied immediately. “You slept for a while, are you hungry?” He nodded quietly, or maybe he was just snuggling his face against his mother’s soft sweater. Regardless, she led him to the table and sat him down, setting a plate in front of him. 

“How are you feeling?” George asked from his across the way. 

Alexander shrugged and mumbled under his breath, “Fine,” 

Nobody pressed for more information, instead Martha placed a slice of pizza in front of him and went back to her humming as she grabbed two more for George and herself. Martha’s homemade pizza always made Alexander’s heart feel slightly warmer. As did all of her cooking. It always felt like home, right where he belonged. 

He ate quickly upon realizing how much work he still had to do for the night. When he finished, he put his plate in the dishwasher, gave Martha a chaste kiss on the cheek and he hugged George. Alex left the room without a word, much like he had done in the bathroom earlier that day. Back upstairs in his bedroom, it was go time. He pulled out his laptop, opened up a document of an essay that he had been working on for the past few days, and went back to typing. 

Half way down the first new paragraph he found himself humming the tune of the opening of Heights, and the words consumed his voice. Vaguely, in the background, he could hear his phone vibrating on his nightstand, but he still was in no mood to answer the piles of questions he knew awaited him. So, he ignored it, and focused on his essay about monolinguistic English speakers and the Spanish words flowing through his lips.

Some time passed before he stopped typing again. The words were flowing, and he was on a role. However, even great writers needed bathroom breaks at some point, and Alexander realized very quickly that he hadn’t taken a break all day long. Though, he didn’t drink much water anyway, so he didn’t really feel compelled to go until that moment. 

He scurried off to the bathroom, leaving his laptop and his door open. After the bathroom, Alexander went to his parent’s room and asked Martha about the weekend, then made his way back to his bedroom. When he walked in, he was not prepared for the sight that greeted him. 

On his bed sat a tentative girl, holding a thermos in between her hands and nervously looking around at the walls. She fidgeted with her straight, black hair and glanced down at her phone, seeming to type out a text while she waited. _Hold on, waited for what?_ Alexander shook his head.

“Eliza?” 

“Alexander!” She jumped up from the bed immediately, straightening out the sheets where she had been sitting, though they were still messy from Alexander’s nap earlier in the evening. “I’m sorry, I… You were gone when I came in so I thought I’d just- sorry, umm… Your mom--Martha! She uh, she let me in when she found out I was here to see you. John drove me, he’s outside in the car. I can call him up if you want to-”

“Eliza,” Alexander couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Eliza rambled endlessly. “You’re looking for me?” 

“Oh!” Eliza chuckled shallowly. “Right, yes. I suppose I should tell you, considering I just sorta sat down on your bed and stuff.” Alexander nodded for her to go on, walking over to his desk and taking a seat. Eliza stood still, seeming to debate between sitting down on the bed again or remaining standing. “Like I said, Martha let me in and… I made you soup.” She held out the thermos to which Alex took in his hands, his fingers lingering on Eliza’s for maybe a second too long. “I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You know, after what happened at… yeah.” 

Alexander unscrewed the top while she spoke, and took a long, deep breath of steam from the canister. It smelled delightfully sweet, and he smiled warmly at the girl, who kept rambling. 

“Are you… Are you okay?” 

“I am.”

“Okay.” Eliza nodded faintly, playing with the hem of her shirt nervously. “I should be going. I hope you enjoy the soup, it’s a family recipe.” 

“I think I’ll take it with me for lunch tomorrow.” The grin that crossed Eliza’s lips was radiant and captivating. 

“Wonderful,” she waved to him gently and made for the door before Alexander stood up, putting the thermos on his desk. 

“Eliza, wait!” 

“Yes?” 

Without warning, Alexander pulled her in for a hug. At first she didn’t return it and Alex briefly considered retracting, telling her how sorry he was to have gotten in her space so quickly and without asking first. But, the feeling of Eliza wrapping her arms around his waist was enough to make Alexander feel lightheaded, and he allowed himself to bury his head in her shoulder. It felt just like their hug from a few days prior, but this time it felt more… personal. She pulled away first, much to his dismay, but she didn’t leave before laying a comforting hand in his own and squeezing lightly. 

Alexander couldn’t stop smiling after she left. 

~~~~~~~

“So?” John asked when Eliza sat in the passenger seat. “I see he didn’t want me to come up. Jerk.” 

“Oh, John,” a dreamy sigh escaped Eliza’s lips. “He’s so wonderful. He said he’s going to take my soup tomorrow for lunch! Can you imagine, he’ll have my thermos! It’s even got my name on it!” Eliza resolved into hysterical giggles, causing John to roll his eyes as he started the car. 

“Oh yeah, he’s swell, ‘Liza,” 

“John, I really…” she sighed again, then her voice got quiet. “I wish he’d notice me like I notice him.” 

Laurens placed a soft hand on her thigh sympathetically. “Something will change, ‘Liza. Something will.” She tried her best to smile at his encouragement, but it came off as strained. 

“I sure hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh, yes. Resolved. For the most part. In the next chapter we GET THIS TRAIN ROLLING EVEN MORE. I am excited. Are you? I hope so! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, your kudos, comments, etc are all a wonderful blessing. I am off to finish studying for my finals this week. Until next chapter! 
> 
> -Ki


	9. And So it Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend is fast approaching, and these kids just can't wait to get out. And finally, Abuela Claudia makes her entrance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is pretty short compared to other chapters. Sorry about that. But here we go.

“Good rehearsal everyone!” Their director clapped, a satisfied smile on her lips. “Before you all go, there’s something we need to discuss.” 

The students were wandering around the auditorium, grabbing their bags and chatting amongst each other when their director made the announcement and kids quieted down in favor of listening. Rehearsal had gone relatively well that afternoon, and the kids were exhausted, ready to get home. 

“We’ve been doing this show since the beginning without an Abuela Claudia,” their director went on. “And the only reason for that has been because we haven’t been able to find an older woman who would be willing to put in that much time to come and rehearse with us.” The kids grumbled to each other quietly and their director waited until they silenced again. “Well, we finally found someone! And she’s more than willing to do it. She already knows Spanish, though she doesn’t come from native blood. She’s also a mother of someone in the production.” _That_ caused a commotion while students began surveying the room, interrogating each other to figure out whose parent would be taking on the stage. 

“Hey!” They all went silent again. The director cleared her throat again, before announcing, “Mrs Washington will be taking on Abuela Claudia.” 

Anybody could have heard Alexander choking on his water when the name of his mother was said. Giggles erupted from girls around him--they weren’t necessarily laughing at him, but more so at his reaction. It had been a week since his attack, and the boy had definitely not let it phase him. He’d doubled his efforts since that day, and it astounded everyone else, who stepped up their games as well to match their star. 

“My _mother_ said she would play Abuela?” Jefferson snickered from across the aisle, and Alexander shot him a piercing glare. 

“She did.” Their director nodded proudly. “She’s saving us in our moment of crisis, so when she comes into rehearsal tomorrow I want nothing but respect from _all_ of you.” A chorus of ‘yes ma’am’s came from the children and they were excused. 

“Your mom, huh Hamilton?” Hercules asked, prodding his shoulder playfully while they picked up their bags. 

“I had no idea that she was even thinking about doing this,” Hamilton groaned. “A warning would be nice.” 

“Your mom is the best, Ham,” Laurens told him. 

“No complaints, just…” Alexander shrugged, shaking his head. “I don’t know, man.” 

“Do you think your mom will bring her cookies with her?” Lafayette asked, making dreamy eyes up to the sky. “I love her cookies.” 

The group scoffed and made their way towards the door when someone called out Alexander’s name. He turned around to find Maria smiling sweetly, waving him over. He turned to his friends and smiled sympathetically. “I’ll catch up to you in a minute,” 

The trio made cooing noises as he walked away shaking his head. Maria had her bag slung lazily over her shoulder and her car keys were jingling in her hand. 

“What’s up?” 

“I just wanted to ask you something.” One thing important to know about Maria was that her voice was smooth and sultry. She hardly ever raised the volume above to a yell, unless a scene in the show permitted it or she was really upset about something. Alexander, over the past few weeks, had grown to love hearing her speak--almost as much as hearing her sing. 

“Alright, fire away,” 

Her lips twitched up at the corners and she swirled her lanyard in her hand. “I was wondering if you’d like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?” 

Alexander felt his stomach do a flip when she looked at him with those beautifully deep eyes. “I, uhh…” 

If Maria felt any regret for asking, she hid it perfectly. “If you’d like to wait until next weekend when we’re on fall break, then that’s okay too.” 

“No, no.” Alexander shook himself back to reality. “Tomorrow is good. Let’s do tomorrow.” _Friday night. I can spare a few hours, can’t I? It’s not like I had anything planned anyway._

“Great,” Maria practically purred. “I’ll pick you up at seven? You can text me your address tonight.” Alex couldn’t seem to find his words, so he nodded slowly, trying to play a cool smile on his lips. She pulled him in for a hug and all Alexander could focus on was the soft feeling of her hair against his cheek and _wow, she smelled nice_. 

With a sweet wave, Maria was out the door, leaving Hamilton to compose himself and return to his waiting friends. He came back and they all gave him skeptical stares. 

“What was that about?” Herc broke the silence to ask. 

“Maria just asked me on a date,” it came out as an unsure statement, as though he didn’t really know whether or not she had been serious. 

Laf and Herc whistled and cheered, patting Hamilton on the back, making comments like “That a boy!” and “You’re such a--how you say-- ladies man!” John, though, seemed to turn pale and he let out a labored laugh. 

“You said yes, oui?” 

Alexander hummed quietly, nodding his head much like he had when Maria initially asked. “Yeah, we’re going out tomorrow night,” 

~~~~~~~~

From John:  
Bad news. Ham’s going on a date tomorrow night with Maria. 

From Betsey:  
He’s doing what? 

From John:  
I know. I wish I were lying.

Eliza felt the color draining from her face. This couldn’t be real. Couldn't be happening this way. Surely John was mistaken. Surely Alexander wouldn’t lead her on like he had in the past week. Since his attack Eliza had been over to Alex’s house multiple times, and they had even eaten lunch together at one point: bringing their tables together as well for an afternoon. She was starting to feel something shifting between them, as though Alexander was finally letting Eliza closer. 

All of that, crushed with one text message. 

_Don’t cry, Eliza, don’t do it._ She scolded herself when a tear slipped down her cheek, and quickly wiped it away. She fired off another text to John and threw her phone on the bedside table. She ran a tired a hand through her hair and focused back on her textbooks that were scattered around her bed. It wasn’t a big deal. It wouldn’t affect her. 

~~~~~~~~~

The next day rehearsal rolled around and everybody was more than ready to get the day over with. The weekend was a few hours out of their grasps and then their last week of school before fall break lay ahead of them. Students were laying on the stage, chatting amongst themselves and stretching or warming up their voices, when their director halted them. 

“Students, Mrs Washington is here today,” A few kids looked over to Alexander, who offered a knowing smile, while other kids immediately sat up to see the woman who stood behind their director, Jill. 

Martha smiled kindly to the kids, offering a wave. 

“Hi Mrs Washington!” Lafayette jumped up and down excitedly, waving a little too enthusiastically at the older woman. 

Martha let out her warm giggle and waved to Lafayette individually. “Hello Laffy,” He preened at the pet name. Martha had taken to giving the Revolutionary Bunch each their own nicknames as they started showing up at her house more and more often. None of them seemed to mind, especially not Lafayette who basically considered himself George and Martha’s second, unofficial son. 

“Martha has been kind enough to learn most of her material on her own, but today we will run the opening all the way through 96,000 and include Martha in them all so she can get a feel for how things run.” Jill and Martha turned around together, giving the kids their last few minutes to prepare before rehearsal officially started. 

“Alexander’s mommy is gonna be here taking care of him, awh,” Jefferson cooed mockingly, tapping his chin while a few boys laughed around him. 

“Oh, put a sock in it and go embrace your man-wife,” Hamilton scoffed, throwing a smirk in the direction of ‘King’ George, who had taken comfortably to his role as Camila. George was a… feminine kid to begin with, so he had no problem at all taking on the sassy mother role. Thomas had been less enthused, but he dealt with it. 

Alex had confronted Martha the night before about her taking on the role, and they made the agreement to not be so… lovey at rehearsal. She promised to not use pet names on him, and not try to pry him away from his friends during their shared two hour time slot. Alexander didn’t mind having his mom there: he loved her to the ends of the earth. The whole thing wouldn’t be so bad. Plus, she had a pretty good singing voice, so that was a positive. 

Jefferson rolled his eyes as the laughs were directed at him and he went back to his warming up (which consisted of scrolling through his phone, since he didn’t have his little sidekick James to gossip with). 

Their rehearsal went swimmingly, with Martha falling comfortably into place with the much younger students. They blocked their scenes with her, filling her in on certain aspects that she needed to know, and by the end of their two hours the cast had run the opening number nonstop with the addition of their permanent Abuela. It was all starting to look even brighter than it had before. 

Rehearsal was let out a few minutes early, to which the students were very thankful for, and Alexander said quick goodbyes to his friends before heading out with his mom. Usually he would stick around and go home with John, but on this day he hurried along, practically trying to push his mom out the door. When asked why the rush, Alexander shrugged and responded “I’ve got a date in an hour and a half.” 

His hurried departure did not go unnoticed in the auditorium, especially by Eliza, who watched him leave with slumped shoulders. 

_I should have known he’d never like me for more than a friend. I never had a chance._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. That's a thing. Poor Eliza. I will say no more. 
> 
> Other than I hop you enjoyed! Hopefully the next one will be longer.


	10. By Actions Rather than Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dates, dates, dates all around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK. Hello. I am so sorry for the absence. You'd think the summer would be a perfect time for... I don't know, writing. But this summer has kind of been not so good, so I haven't done much. My fault. This story is not abandoned! I promise it will be finished eventually. 
> 
> Here is a new chapter, and hopefully I will get into a groove with this, but who knows. Another chapter will hopefully be up by the end of this weekend though, if all else fails. 
> 
> Also, quick thanks to the people who have stuck with this story even during my infrequent updating period. I owe this chapter to AngelicaWORK's comment on another one of my stories, which I happened to look upon tonight that spurred me to crank this chapter out. Thank you as well to DonOsservatore, who has read and commented extensively on every chapter of this story. And to everyone else, you are all amazing, and I thank you endlessly for your kind words and dedication. 
> 
> Okay, enough of me. Let's get onto this.

“I’m so proud of my son,” Martha sat on the edge of a dining room chair, adjusting Alexander’s shirt for what had to have been the twelfth time. “A date! Can you believe it, George? Our little boy finally going on his very first date with a girl. And she’s very pretty!” 

George hummed from his spot in the chair across from them. “Where are you going again?” 

“To get yogurt at Yogurt Palace,” Alexander mumbled yet again, as they had asked the question many times already. 

“How much money do you have to spend?” 

“Twenty.” 

“What will you do when you get there and get your yogurt?” 

“I will pay for hers, as any true gentleman should.” 

“That’s my boy,” George nodded in satisfaction, standing to scuffle Alexander’s hair lovingly. The action earned him an annoyed groan. 

“Dad! Now I have to go fix it _again_.” Alexander stocked off in a hurry to his bathroom to check his hair once again, which lay freely at his shoulders. 

“Oh George,” Martha grinned as she went to wash her hands under the faucet. “He’s all grown up. Isn’t this exciting? It’s like a real show-mance!”

“A what?” 

Martha giggled softly as she dried her hands. “When two people are in a show together, and then fall for each other and go on dates and things like that.” 

“It’s just one date, dear,” George said with amusement. 

“I can hear you talking about me again,” Alexander said as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen with his phone in his hand. “And anyway, Maria is here. I’ll be home by mid-night, just like you said.” George nodded his approval while Martha let out a whine. 

“We don’t get to see her?” 

Alex grabbed his wallet and house keys, pecked his mom on the cheek and gave his dad a strong hug, before yelling as he ran out of the room, “I wanted to spare her the torture of seeing you in your natural habitat!” Before Martha could fire off a snarky remark, the front door shut. She put on a pouty face and let George take her in his embrace. 

“We aren’t that bad are we, Georgie?” 

“No, my love, but like you said he’s _all_ grown up.” His laughter filled the room and he rubbed small circles on Martha’s back while she stood there. “Now come along, let’s go pick out a movie to watch,” 

~~~~~~~~~~

“You live _here_?” Maria asked after Alexander pulled his seatbelt on. 

He laughed, sparing a glance over his shoulder at the rather large house. “Yeah, I do. The family likes to live comfortably, you know?” Maria nodded and began the drive down the driveway. 

“So,” she smiled--something that still stood out to Alexander even in the dimmed lighting. “We’ve obviously become well acquainted over the past month, since you know, we are doing a show together,” Alexander laughed once again. “But, that’s mainly show stuff. Tell me more about you,” 

“Are you sure that’s a train you really want to get rolling? I usually don’t stop talking once I begin.” Alexander hummed to himself subtly. “There was one time that John--my best friend, he plays Sonny in case you didn’t know--asked me what pizza I wanted and we ended up having a full on debate for about twenty minutes with our other two Revs. Herc and Laf. They play Piragua guy and Benny respectively. Though, I’m sure you already know that since we’ve been in this for a month now…” 

It suddenly dawned on Alexander that he had done it again; he had started rambling and now Maria wasn’t saying anything. She probably didn’t know how to deal with that, and _that_ was only a taste of what was to come if she kept letting him talk unattended. Why couldn’t Alex just shut his mouth? He, of course, had to ruin everything with his nonstop talking and- 

“Well? What pizza did you end up going with?” 

Alex allowed himself to grin slightly, and then launched into how the debate went. Twenty minutes later and they landed themselves at the yogurt place. Alexander opened the door for her, bowing his head slightly when she walked by. The inside of the shop was cute, small, and fairly empty. 

The back wall was covered in the yogurt machines, and the right side was entirely dedicated to condiments and various syrups. The two of them chose their flavors and made their way to the condiments. Alexander began pouring a few crumbs on top of his yogurt when he stopped, feeling a set of eyes gazing at him. He turned back to Maria, who was watching intently. 

“What?” He asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Was his hair being weird again? Was it doing that dumb flip thing at the bottom? Alex hated when it did that. He resisted the urge to reach up and fix it when Maria spoke. 

“Nothing. Go ahead. You can learn a lot about someone based on their toppings.” 

That did _not_ help. Alexander looked at his cup, at the stand, and then back at her, before giving up a nervous smile. He turned back and considered his next move. What exactly was she looking for? If he was a cookie man or a gummy man? If he preferred a lot of syrup on his? And what did that say to her? Was syrup weird? He tapped his lip, reached into the bar and took a scoop full of Oreo cookies out and poured them on his yogurt slowly. He then stopped, mid pour, and looked back at Maria to see her facial reaction. 

She raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged her shoulders. Alexander added two more toppings, stopping each time to look at the girl next to him. She was slowly adding toppings as well, and Alexander wanted to watch her just as she was watching him. When they were almost to the counter, Alexander stopped and stared at his favorite topping. The little balls of fruit juice that popped when you bit into them. The only question was… what would she think of it? Was that some weird sign that Alexander was a nut job? 

Maria started giggling next to him as she observed him eyeing the small spheres. 

“Oh Alexander,” she reached out in front of him, their bodies pressing together in the process, and pulled a scoop of strawberry spheres out. She poured them over Alexander’s yogurt and then leaned back with a satisfied smirk on her face. “I was totally making all of that up about knowing a person by their toppings.” 

Alex sighed, and then stuttered out his next sentence. “What--I know! I knew it! What a weird thing to base someone on, anyway!” Maria’s giggle was infectious, and Alexander felt himself relaxing as the sound filled his ears. Her nose crinkled up in the most adorable way. 

“Come on, let's pay,” she brushed past him, her arms grazing his back, her giggle still radiating from within. 

The person behind the counter had obviously seen their entire ordeal, and she grinned happily when they placed their cups on the scale to be weighed. 

“That’ll be four dollars and seventy nine cents.” 

“I got it,” Alexander put his hand over Maria’s as he fished his wallet from his back pocket. She smiled again, and Alex had to look away for fear of forgetting what he was doing. They paid for their yogurt and then found a nice booth off to the side where they could sit quietly and eat. 

“How do you think the show is going?” Alexander asked her once they got comfortable. 

“Oh, it’s going pretty well, I would say. Don’t you think? I know that some of my scenes I really need to work on, because they are just not working.” 

“Oh come on, that’s nonsense.” Alex shook his head, rolling a gummy worm around his spoon. “Almost every single scene that you’re in is perfection. _You_ are basically perfection,” 

Maria blushed just a little, and pushed another bit of yogurt onto her spoon. “Thank you. And you aren’t too bad yourself if I do say.” 

Alex looked at her through his mouthful and tried to hide his grin, but she continued. “You’re quite handsome, you know that? You’ve got very nice eyes. Seeing them up close every day has been a blessing on my part. Plus your hair is always so nice. That day you wore your hair in pigtails to rehearsal? I just about passed out from laughing so much, it was way too adorable.” 

Alexander knew she could see his blush now, his cheeks were burning absurdly. She was laying it all out, and Alexander was defenseless with a particularly chewy worm in his mouth still. 

“You’re quite the rapper too,” Maria continued. “I mean, you can sing too but _wow_. Your rapping is something else. You could move mountains with the way the words flow so easily from your mouth.” 

Finally, Alexander swallowed the chewy problem in his mouth and stopped her train of praises. Not that he didn’t enjoy them, but he didn’t want the entire night to be a ‘make Hamilton blush’ night. 

“Well, you know, I’ve never had more fun onstage than when I get to do that scene with you during It Won’t Be Long Now. I know I haven’t been onstage very long, but… Seriously, I get to be a dork next to a beautiful girl--which is basically the entire musical now that I’m thinking about it. Plus, my best friend is there as my wingman while I woo you with my,” he stops, runs a hand through his locks very dramatically, then leans back into the booth in an attempt to look cool. True Usnavi fashion, as it turns out completely awkward looking. Maria laughs regardless. “Dashing good looks.”

“And I swoon everytime you attack those boys with your fake price gun.” They dissolve into laughter that lasts for a good minute. When they calm themselves down, Alexander takes another bite of his yogurt before asking her “What’s your family like?” 

Maria pauses for a moment, seeming to hesitate in answering his question, and Alexander considers taking it back and asking something else, but she opens her mouth. “My mom, she uhh, passed away. When I was real little. And my dad isn’t the friendliest guy, but I get by with what I have, you know?” Alexander nodded. He thought for a moment, and reached across the table to take Maria’s hand in his own. 

“Martha and George adopted me. They aren’t my real parents.” 

“Really?” 

“I was an orphan before. So I know what it’s like to not have a parent around. I get it,” They shared a knowing look and Maria smiled at him, giving his hand a squeeze. Alexander had never felt so lightheaded in his life. 

~~~~~~~~~

Eliza was lying on her bed, pen flying across her paper as she logged another page in her journal, when a knock on her door brought her to reality. The time was about eight o’clock and Eliza wanted nothing more than to write and then sleep. 

“Elizabeth, darling,” her mother’s smooth voice came into the room. “There is someone at the door for you.” 

Eliza smiled at her mom and thanked her, saying she would be down in a moment. She hadn’t changed into her pajamas yet, luckily, so there was no need to try and put any extra clothing on over her usual night apparel. She trotted down the stairs, eager to get the confrontation over with. When she opened the door, she was not prepared for the sight that greeted her. 

A boy stood there, a bright bouquet of pink roses in his hand and a box of Eliza’s favorite candies in the other. His freckled face, curly hair, and goofy smile was impossible to miss and Eliza felt herself tearing up at the sight. 

“John?” 

“Elizabeth Schuyler,” John began, projecting his voice in the most poetic way he could manage. “I come to your home tonight bringing gifts, and a proposal. I was wondering if you would do me the immense pleasure of accompanying me to get late night tater tots and ice cream.” 

Eliza giggled inwardly and wiped a tear away from her cheek. “Goodness, John.” She shook her head fondly as he smiled even brighter. 

“I bring you these flowers, which need water as soon as possible to stay alive for as long as possible, and I bring you this candy for after I have gone. As a reminder of this spectacular friend date I’m about to take you on.” 

“Let me have them, and come in, you dork,” Eliza took the flowers and ran off to the kitchen as John stood in their entry way. She came back a minute later with her purse, and a smile that she never expected to feel that night. 

John bowed at her and held the door open as they left. “After you, dear,” 

Once outside, Eliza smacked his arm with as much love as she could muster. “What are you doing here?” 

“Uhh, did you not understand by my speech? Taking you on a friend date!” John made a face to mock Eliza’s and she shook her head. “Look, I didn’t want you to be alone tonight, and I know how… things have been unfolding, and I just wanted to let you know that you’ve got people on your side.” 

Eliza could feel a warm sensation in her chest that could only be accounted to her utter love for her friend. 

“Plus,” John added as he opened his car door for Eliza to climb in. “Who would pass up a chance at tater tots and ice cream?” 

_Well,_ Eliza thought to herself. _He has a point_. 

The drive was short, and they pulled into a tiny diner with automated ordering systems. 

“What suits your fancy tonight, ‘Liza? Vanilla? Mixed? Cookies n cream?” John asked as his thumb floated over the call button. 

Eliza hummed, leaning over the middle console of the car to get a better look at the words and pictures on the brightly lit menu. She let her head rest on John’s shoulder as she decided, and didn’t move back when she told him what she wanted. John smiled softly when he noticed her still there presence and went about ordering their ice cream and “the biggest thing of tater tots you’ve got.” 

With the order placed, they sat in relative silence with only the songs from the radio filling the car. It was comforting for Eliza, to just sit with her head on John’s shoulder, hear his even breathing and know that he was there. No matter what, he was present. 

“Why did he lead me on like that?” She asked nobody in particular, and didn’t expect much of a response. 

“Because he’s an asshat.” Eliza snorted and sat up to look John in the face. He threw his hands up and chuckled. “What? It’s true! He’s one of the biggest idiots I’ve ever seen, and I’m definitely going to be talking to him about playing with emotions.” 

Eliza giggled quietly and leaned back down. This time John wrapped his arm around her shoulder and relaxed into the seat some more. It was a bit of an awkward angle for Eliza, but she didn’t mind. 

“It’s going to work out, you know,” John said, rubbing small circles on Eliza’s arm. “This whole situation. I mean, Alexander is being a dummy as per usual, but I know that things will work out.”

“Yeah, with him and Maria, maybe.” 

“Oh you don’t know that.” 

“Have you seen their chemistry onstage? They practically melt into each other.” Eliza can feel the tears brimming in her eyes from her pure displeasure. Watching the two work together always makes her jealous, not only because it’s Alexander, but because they work so well together. Almost all of their scenes are flawless, and they always seem to know what the other is thinking. _It must be nice…_

“That doesn’t mean the chemistry will transfer to offstage, though. And you two have way more chemistry. Alexander is just too blind to actually notice it.” 

“I don’t understand.” Eliza groaned in annoyance. “He never spared a passing glance at me. He hardly knew anything about me despite us always being around each other-”

“-he’s clueless, I told you.” 

“-and he spent so much time with me after the panic attack and I thought things were going so well, but… I guess he didn’t feel the same thing that I did.” 

John sighed above her, and Eliza felt a firm kiss being pressed to the top of her head. “Have faith, Betsey. Alexander will come around eventually.” 

She wanted to protest more, wanted to tell John how unlikely the odds seemed, but the woman bringing them their food made her push those thoughts to the back of her mind. They were meaningless anyway. 

John handed over her ice cream and she dug into the delectable whipped cream that garnished the top: it was always her favorite part. John paid the woman and then rolled up his window, trapping the smell of tater tots inside. They each took a few here and there, and ate in that once again comforting silence. 

“You wanna try this?” John held up his cup while he popped another tot in his mouth. “It’s salted caramel, it’s really good,” 

Eliza shook her head no, but John was having none of it. “Come on, please? Here.” He dug down and got a nice spoonful with the bits of caramel and salt, plus the cool ice cream and held it out for Eliza to bite. She leaned forward, about to take the spoon in her mouth when John tossed the spoon against her face, planting the ice cream on her cheek. 

“John!” His laughter filled the air and Eliza quickly caught the ice cream that was falling from her face. She stuck her tongue out at him and ate the pile in her hand. “You jerk!” 

“But you know you love me.” John mused, handing her a napkin to clean the rest of the cream from her cheek. 

“Sadly,” she mumbled with a fond smile as the ice cream was brushed from her cheek. “Here!” She cheerfully waved a spoon in the air before getting a spoonful from her own cup. “It’s cookies n cream and _so_ good.” Before John could get more than a word of objection out, she landed the ice cream on his forehead. 

“Yeah,” he nodded his head while Eliza giggled uncontrollably. “I deserved it. But thank you, I’m going to savor this.” He reached blindly for a tater tot and then ran one through the ice cream on his face, before popping it into his mouth. 

Their night continued on in the same fashion; airy jokes followed by full laughter and the occasional sharing of ice cream (without the food fight aspect). They spent a good hour and a half out together, before John decided to take her back and retire for the night.

They arrived back on the Schuyler’s doorstep and Eliza pulled John in for a warm hug. She pulled back and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you, John. For everything.” John smiled and nodded his head gently. 

“What else am I good for, eh?” 

Eliza gave his cheek one more kiss before waving him off. She stood outside and waved as he left, then turned in and quietly snuck into her room. There was no courage in her to face any of her family, so she slipped into her pajamas as soon as she could, plugged in her phone, and crawled into bed with a sleepy smile on her face. 

Eliza slept well that night. 

A mere fifteen minutes away, a certain powerhouse of a boy crawled into his bed with the searing memory of a bright red pair of lips against his own. 

He too slept well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOH. ALEXANDER GOT SOME KISSSSSESS. 
> 
> I feel like the younger sister who walks in on their brother kissing his girlfriend. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I sure as heck loved writing for John and Eliza, they are friend goals, honestly. 
> 
> I realized that I made some weird timing decisions and I will explain that more in the next chapter's notes. 
> 
> Until next time!


	11. Mishaps and Prosperity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the final rehearsal before fall break, and everyone is more than ready to get out of there. This attitude turns into a late night movie and arcade session for a certain six students... minus one in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I GOOFED. REAL BAD. I messed up the timing for this. Auditions took place in early AUGUST, not September. For some reason I said September? I was a dummy. So the rehearsal process have been going on now for about 7 weeks. I have also gone back and fixed my goof.
> 
> And I am basing the school schedule off of my school. We go 9 weeks and then have a 2 week break, which is what's happening here for these cool dudes. Our system includes very short summers, which is why I go back to school in 13 days, so. That's cool.
> 
> ALRIGHT. I apologize a lot for my mess up, and I hope I cleared things up a little bit. This is what I get for leaving the story for weeks at a time and then jumping back in. Anywho. Enjoy this chapter, and if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask!

Peggy scribbled down a few more notes on her notepad which sat precariously on her knee as the scenes onstage unfolded in front of her. The set was nowhere near finished, but the crew had been substituting permanent pieces with makeshift ones for the past week, and Peggy was still mapping out how she thought things should be placed. While the teacher had instructed them to make it similar to the Broadway production, they didn’t want an exact copy. And so, Peggy found herself watching Martha Washington receive staging for _Paciencia y Fe_ with James Madison in the seat next to her, writing down any more set ideas that popped into her mind. During quiet phases in staging, where Martha would mumble to herself and take notes on her small pad of paper, one could hear the shifting and sawing coming from the workshop just on the other side of the steel door stage left. 

James hadn’t spoken much since they sat down, and his notepad was growing increasingly full with his own ideas. Over the past weeks, Peggy had come to realize that James was actually very acute in his staging senses. He had almost single handedly designed the entrance to Usnavi’s bodega, which had been causing the group quite a bit of grief, since they needed it to move with the set and be fully functional. Peggy had been more than impressed and since the day they had shared a bagel during one of their breaks, the two of them were together constantly. 

“Psst,” Peggy leaned over her shoulder, not fully looking in Madison’s direction. Her voice was nothing above a whisper. “James,” 

“Yes, bubbles?” Peggy rolled her eyes at the petname. It was acquired when Peggy had dropped her bag on the way to rehearsal and James stopped to help her pick up the contents. Inside was a small bottle of bubbles that Peggy liked to keep on her incase she needed a break with something to focus on. It helped, as odd as it may sound. It was relaxing to see the bubbles fly from the stick and pop somewhere off in the distance. Peggy had explained it to Madison and he conceded that he had a roll of bubble wrap in his locker that he kept for moments of high stress. Since then, the nicknames ensued endlessly. 

“Whatcha got?” Peggy asked. 

James immediately pulled his notepad up to his chest, a look of mock horror painting his face. “Peggy! Are you trying to steal my notes? Show them off to the teacher as though they were yours? As though they came from _your_ perfect mind? I’m hurt.” 

Peggy rolled her eyes again and scoffed. “Oh please! You know I could outdo you in ideas any day of the week. I just wanted to see what your mind has dragged in this time.” 

“Outdo me?” James looked around the auditorium, as though he was searching for someone. 

“What are you doing?” 

 

“I’m looking for whoever you think you’re talking to, because I know you did not just say you could outdo me!” 

Their laughter filled the air as Peggy leaned on his shoulder heavily. They swapped notebooks and read through the other’s notes and comments, and then handed them back over. Peggy launched into a conversation on one of his particularly interesting notes when she was interrupted by a welcomed distraction. 

“... that would be really neat if we could have the scaffolding be a part of the section in Blackout, you know where everyone hits ‘look at the fireworks’ and they all have the lighting on them? Because they’re going to be standing in various places and-”

“Je suis d’accord.” A thoughtful hum came from the other side of Peggy, and she turned to see none other than Lafayette sitting there. His hair was pulled back in an adorably fuzzy bun with a bright pink headband that, oddly enough, made his eyes stand out even more, and he was nodding his head just barely, as though he knew what they had been talking about. He had a few freckles that were only noticeable when at close proximity, and his smile was blinding once he dropped the act. His eyes were-- staring at Peggy. _Oh, God, he’s staring at me!_

“I did not mean to startle you, I merely wanted to see what you two were doing,” Lafayette grinned even wider and added, “Nothing short of amazing, as you two are our best techies,” 

“Hi, Lafayette,” Peggy could hear James say from her other side. It was then that she realized she was staring, and very obviously. 

“Oh, I uhh…” her words were coming out in stumbles. “Lafayette! How are things going? Shouldn’t you be back running… things?” She could feel herself wince at her awkward sentences. 

Lafayette seemed not to notice, and he chuckled. “The madam and I just sang ‘When You’re Home’, and I think we will be running as much of the show as we have blocked after this is done. Which…” he stopped for a moment to look at the stage and listen for what portion of the song they were on. “Sounds like it may be soon,” 

Peggy nodded dumbly, never peeling her eyes away from Lafayette until she caught herself again. She then mumbled unexpectedly, “You’re a very good singer.” 

A silence settled over the three of them as the words hung in the air, and Peggy immediately regretted her inability to keep her mouth shut. She almost always said whatever was going through her head, especially when it was least desirable of course. 

“Thank you, mon cher,” Lafayette had a small grin on his face, one that didn’t show his teeth, but was unmistakably a smile. Peggy felt her heart skip a beat when she heard the French words slip from his lips. She had no idea what they meant, but they sounded… nice. Her train of thought was cut off by a tall and foreboding body standing in front of them. 

“Lafayette, I see you’ve found my sister. You aren’t pestering her while she tries to work are you?” Angelica had her arms crossed over her chest, but a playful smirk adorned her lips. 

“Oh Angelica,” Lafayette cooed. “I would never! I am hurt you would assume such things,” 

This earned a hum from Angelica and she unfolded her arms. “Yes, well, you are needed in the choir room. A few changes have been made to Blackout and they want us all in there for the notes.” 

Lafayette nodded his head solemnly and turned back to the two seated next to him. Before Peggy could register what he was doing, her hand was in his and he was placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. His warm smile left Peggy with an equally warm feeling in her stomach. He bid them farewell and took off with Angelica, but not before she could toss her sister a knowing look. 

When Peggy came back to reality she was met with a stare from James. 

“What?” 

“Lafayette, huh?” 

Blush began to creep across Peggy’s cheeks and she looked down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

James only hummed and turned his attention back to Martha, who was walking her number from the top with the ensemble members added in. 

~~~~~~~~

“Dude, I am beyond ready for this two week break. Classes have been driving me up the wall,” Hercules groaned as he ran a hand over his (albeit exaggerated) tired face. 

“Agreed,” Lafayette nodded from where he stood leaning against the piano. “I am ready to have the days off. Though I am a little, ahh bummed that we have to be here for rehearsals during the second week.” 

“I don’t mind it,” Alexander spoke up, glancing at the others over the top of his sheet music. “I rather enjoy all the time I spend here.” 

“That’s because you have a girlfriend to entertain you, man,” Hercules rolled his eyes, while Alexander absolutely avoided John’s. They had indeed had that talk that John had mentioned to Eliza, and Alexander did _not_ come out of it unscaved. John really tore into him, and Alex did nothing but quietly apologize for making Eliza think there was something between them. A bruise worthy smack on the arm later and John had hardly spoken to him sense. 

“Two weeks off from school will be nice, though,” John mused, sketching aimlessly onto the sheet in front of him. The cast was on break, and the four Revs decided it be beneficial to take a much needed water break and discuss plans for the next few weeks, which had turned into a very quick acapella session, accompanied by Hercules’ beatboxing. 

“Boys!” An ensemble member poked her head through the doorway and smiled. “You’re wanted on stage. Jill wants to run the show up to Paciencia y Fe. She says it’ll be a nice place to stop before we go on break.” 

“Copy that,” Hercules clapped dramatically before shuffling out the door, seeming oddly eager to get back into action. John laughed dryly and followed Lafayette out, ignoring Alexander closely behind him. Once back in the auditorium they found kids slowly trickling back to the stage, and the director standing up on a stool. She was a short woman, so recently the tech crew had come together to get her a stool to stand on, something she laughed about (but used almost daily). 

“Listen up!” Jill called from where she stood on the stool. Martha was on a chair not far away, watching intently as kids crowded onto the stage. “We’ve got a few new props that I want you to use today when we do this run. They’re back on the prop table, and if you have not looked I suggest you do so now. There is also a test bodega case that I want you to try out- Alexander, John- basically anybody who has to pull it out or push it back at all during this portion. Go on, you’ve got five minutes and we run it from the top.” 

Alexander nodded and walked over to the counter slightly upstage left while other kids wandered over to the prop tables backstage to see if any of their props had appeared. The small bodega counter looked oddly out of place being one of the only props onstage besides a few chairs and carts. The floor was lined with bright colored tape where pieces were going to eventually go, but not much else. He gave it an experimental push and found that it moved rather easily. Within the shelves were a few empty cups of coffee and a newspaper, and Alex couldn’t help but smile. Having props, even what little there were, made things seem so much more real. 

John came walking over not long after to try out the counter which he would be responsible for pulling in after the first scene was finished, and he hardly talked to Alex. They shared a small look, but nothing more. Lafayette was pleased to see the addition of a counter in the Rosario’s Dispatch, and he and Theo tested out the small intercom they were given for their first song together. 

Aaron Burr was absolutely shocked to find a new backpack for his character and a few spray paint bottles laying on the prop table. He had used makeshift cans prior to that rehearsal, and while the two on the prop table weren’t final, Aaron gave them an experimental spray and smiled at the sound that came out. He wasn’t the best dancer out there, but he definitely felt empowered with the two cans in his hand. 

Eliza and Angelica shared a laugh over the small scissors that were to accompany their salon, and Maria got a hold of her vintage looking cellphone. Among these were others, but nothing too dramatic or major. Their props were slowly coming in, and tech was working endlessly to get the set made to their liking. It all just needed time. 

“From the top, please!” Jill clapped her hands together loudly, signaling to the sound booth in the back that they would be starting. The stage was cleared, with most of the actors being in the wings. A voice appeared staticy through the speakers and began.

“Yo, pull out them kiddie pools and call me up with your sizzling summer scandal. Tomorrow’s the Fourth of July but we’re kicking off the celebration early with fireworks at the marina! It’s going to be a scorcher!” Aaron Burr--or Graffiti Pete--walked onstage and did his thing, twirling the cans in his hands, doing his best to imitate what their dance teacher had showed him in the beginning of the rehearsal process. His hip hop had grown better over the weeks and it showed as he took on that opening. Just as he was about to spray the ‘grate’, a familiar face came running on to stop him. 

“Yo, that’s my wall!” Alexander stood at the steps of their apartment building and then sprinted over to Aaron, who darted off into the wings. After a second of making sure the graffiti artist had gone, Alexander turned his attention out to the almost empty auditorium. 

“Lights up on Washington Heights…” 

~~~~~~~~

In theater, not everything goes right. Things go wrong all the time, sometimes they are major and sometimes they are little things that slip by unnoticed in the audience, but not by the performers. It’s the thrill of live stage, knowing that anything could go wrong, and in a moments notice someone would have to improvise their way out of a sticky situation. 

Those slip ups happened many times during the (supposed to be) forty five minute run of a third of their show. 

For starters, a few ensemble members collided during the first number, causing quite the commotion from the audience perspective. They recovered well, though, and were back up in seconds. 

Then, Hercules, being the master Spanish speaker that he was, mispronounced about half of the words in the beginning of Breathe. Theodosia ignored it, and went about the song as she usually would, but Jill made a note to remind Hercules to study up on his vocabulary. 

The first scene with Jefferson and ‘King’ George went… well, interesting to say the least. George looked to be having lots of fun as Camila, and he fell into the sassy mom role very well. He looked like a natural woman up there, even his walk seemed more feminine. Jefferson, though, was having a difficult time getting into his character. It wasn’t too painful to watch, but anyone in the audience could tell that he was slightly uncomfortable. With having George as his wife? Maybe. Acting as a hispanic male having to speak Spanish like it was nothing? Maybe that too. Whatever it was, it showed, and the scene was overall really awkward. 

On the upside, Lafayette made Benny’s Dispatch one of the most enjoyable moments of the run through, and the director made a note to compliment the onstage chemistry that he and Theodosia seemed to be sharing. 

On another positive note, Maria’s rendition of It Won’t Be Long Now was something to behold. Her voice carried throughout the auditorium in such a magnificent way. Aaron Burr and a few other boys made their presence known and enjoyable, and Alexander was the perfectly awkward boy that everyone knew as Usnavi. If John and Alexander had any ill thoughts towards each other, it definitely was not seen when they walked back to the bodega with Alex’s arm over John’s shoulder after they nabbed Usnavi a date. 

The fight between the Rosario’s and Benny went perfectly in terms of acting. Jefferson found his groove at that point, and he and George played off of each other very well, oddly enough. Lafayette was the genuinely concerned boy that any girl wanted in their life, and Theodosia handled her confession very well. Not only that, but Thomas proceeded to actually perform a meaningful Inútil. 

Theodosia then missed her entrance into the salon scene, leaving Angelica, Eliza, and Maria to improvise for a good thirty seconds before someone got her attention. A few lines in No Me Diga were messed up and switched around, probably due to the actors being a little frazzled from the improvising. 

During 96,000 entrances were mixed up and music was missed, and a few dancers collided yet again. It was becoming a reoccurring problem, and the director made sure to note that. Something would seriously need to be done about that when they got back from their week long break. 

Martha didn’t do too bad during her solo, but she did miss a few staging cues that were put in recently. 

Overall, there were quite a few mix ups, and everyone probably saw that. Though, within the mistakes were those highlights and hopeful shining moments. Jill knew that something great was to come from this production, and they had plenty of time to iron out the kinks and get things in order. So, she released the kids that afternoon after notes with a smile on her face and a slight skip in her step. 

Plus, she had to hand it to them. Learning all this material in just under a two months was baffling, and while it was impressive, she planned to take it a little slower once they got back from break. Mid-October to December and she wanted to focus on staging up through half of act two and try to get the set made and put in. That would leave them two months in after Winter break to finish up the blocking, get promo pictures out, and really polish the production. 

This show was going to be _good_. 

~~~~~~~~

“We’re free boys!” John shouted as he ran to his car, Lafayette in tow. Mulligan was doing a jig down the sidewalk with Alexander at his side. 

“This calls for a celebration,” Hercules said in between his dedicated dance moves. “A movie, on me. Popcorn, drinks, and candy on all of you.” 

“Sounds like a steal, mon ami!” Lafayette giggled and got John to release his hand and slow to a stop. They turned around with valient smiles on their faces. 

“I’m down! What do you say, Alex?” the three boys turned to a sheepish Alexander, who was fiddling with a piece of his hair. Something he only did when he was really nervous. 

“I don’t think I can, guys.” He mumbled, trying to avoid their disappointed stares. “I have… things to do tonight.” 

“So hanging out with your girlfriend is more important than the crew?” Hercules held up a hand as if to say ‘what gives?’ and Alexander shook his head. 

“You don’t even know if she’s my girlfriend.” 

“Please, Alexander, we saw you two, how you say, sucking face?” Lafayette tapped his head, throwing a mocking kissy face in Alex’s direction. 

“What?” Alex immediately started to blush. “When did you see that?” 

“During lunch next to the cafeteria is probably not the best place to get it on, Hamilton.” John rolled his eyes, looking very annoyed. 

“Seriously, it’s been a week since your first date, you can’t even spare us your Friday night? You took her on three dates this week. And you don’t even try to deny that you’re going out with her again?” Hercules reached into his pocket, digging around for a set of keys to his truck. 

Alex hesitated for a moment, his eyes skimming the three faces in front of him. “I’m sorry, guys.” 

John scoffed out loud and shook his head as he turned away. “Come on guys, let’s get the Schuyler’s on board.” 

Lafayette looked sadly on Hamilton and turned to leave, followed shortly by Mulligan. Alex was left standing alone, quietly saying “I’ll see you in a week,” 

John climbed into his seat, pulling out his phone to fire off a text before Lafayette started to get impatient with them sitting in the car idly. 

To Betsey:   
Movies tonight with Laf and Herc. It’s gonna be a pretty good time, arcade afterwards, I think. You and the sisters are all invited, I’ll cover your tickets. You on board?

They started the short drive to John’s house, where they agreed to wait and find a movie and theater, when John’s phone buzzed in Lafayette’s hands. He slid open the lock, put in John’s password and read the message out loud. 

“I’ll definitely come along. Arcade games are my forte. Angelica says that she’s in too, and Peggy wants to know if… Lafayette will be there? Why does Peggy want to know about me?” 

John bit his lip, trying to keep a straight face and not give away the secret that Eliza had told him of so long. Peggy’s massive crush on Laf was growing daily, and it was obvious that Lafayette was absolutely oblivious. 

“Maybe she wants to beat you at Guitar Hero at the arcade, I don’t know man. Tell her I said you’re on, and Lafayette will be there.” 

Lafayette typed out the message, and got almost an immediate response. 

“Peggy’s in.” 

John nodded smugly as Laf scratched his head and locked John’s phone, electing to allow John to expand on the details once they got to his house. They pulled in, followed shortly by Hercules in his truck, and went straight up to John’s room (all except John, who had to say hello to his father for formalities). Once inside, they sifted through the movie options playing at the closest theater and had a few short debates that, for the most part, ended at square one. Until someone made the offer of something unthought of.

“Finding Dory.” Hercules nodded in confirmation. “Seven thirty five showing. Plenty of time for the late night arcade afterwards.” 

“Finding Dory.” John repeated back to him, a straight look on his face. “Really?” 

“Listen, chicks dig the fish, and I find it fitting considering we all did Disney songs for our auditions.” 

To Betsey:  
Finding Dory? 

“But mon ami, don’t you think Finding Dory is-” 

“For kids, Laf?” Hercules put his hands on his hip. “Is that what you’re going to say? It’s for kids only? Teenagers can’t go to see it without children in attendance?” 

“Non, that isn’t what I was going to say, but-” 

Hercules jumped up, throwing his hands around in dramatized anger when John’s phone buzzed. “But what, Lafayette? You wanna explain to me what exactly you meant to say-”

“Finding Dory it is. The girls are in. Let’s go you hobos, we have candy to buy from the dollar store.” John shook his head fondly at his friend’s bickering and stood up to grab his wallet and keys. “It’s six thirty now, a stop on the way and we can be there with time to spare.”

Lafayette smiled sympathetically and followed John out of the room as quick as he could. Hercules tutted and grabbed his keys, shouting “I told you, the ladies love fish!” 

~~~~~~~~~

“John, Hercules, Laf!” Eliza came running over to them, her sister following in tow. Eliza was wearing one of the most elegant looking blue fall dresses that any of them had ever seen, and her hair was pulled into a neat pony tail. Angelica was in gorgeous blue jeans and a light orange blouse that came down to her wrists. Her hair was laying easily at her shoulders. Peggy was in a white skirt with her signature yellow top, and her hair seemed to have had a lot of attention, as it was wavier than usual. Of course, the sisters all looked flawless. 

“Girls! Hey, glad you could make it!” John welcomed them, pulling Eliza into a hug. 

“Well, to be honest we came for Dory, so,” Angelica smirked in their direction, giving Peggy a side hug. 

“Well, Dory will be missed if we don’t get in there and find us some good seats,” Hercules said, clapping his hand together (for what had to have been the twentieth time that day), then offering an arm out for Angelica to take. John, of course, already had Eliza’s arm looped through his own and that left… Peggy and Lafayette. They stood there for a moment, merely looking at each other. 

Lafayette smiled softly at her, holding his arm out for her to take. “Shall we, madam?” 

First rehearsal, and now that. Poor Peggy had never felt her heart beat so fast in her entire life.

~~~~~~~~~

“So you guys offered to pay for him and everything and he still said no?” Angelica swiped her arm across the giant screen, slicing a few watermelons in half. 

“Yeah, guy totally blew us off!” Hercules did the same, just barely avoiding a bomb that had been thrown up. “He’s probably off hanging out with Maria now,” 

Angelica ‘tsked’ as the timer ran out and her points proved higher than Herc’s. “He is a real jerk. Oblivious sometimes. Oh, and next game is on you, loser.” 

Hercules’ eyes widened and he pulled out his game card, swiping it in the machine and pulling the sleeves up on his jacket. “Oh, it’s on!” 

A little ways away, Lafayette and Peggy were seated at two of the car racing machines. 

“You’ve never played one of these?” Peggy exclaimed, adjusting her seat so that her legs were fit perfectly to the pedals. Lafayette on the other hand was staring at the seat in wonder, trying to figure out how she had pulled herself forward. 

“Non, I suppose I have not…” Peggy pointed to the lever and he pulled it up, immediately jostling forward. He smiled nervously and held his hands up once he was locked in place. “Been around arcades enough since moving to America.” 

“Wasn’t that a really long time ago?” 

Lafayette waved a hand dismissively and grinned at the girl next to him. “So. How do we do this?” 

“Well first, swipe your card in there,” Peggy pointed to the small lit up slot and made the motion herself for him to follow. The game shifted into gear and the screen changed to a number of cars. “Now you can pick your car,” She said as she grabbed hold of the steering wheel to pick her own vehicle. 

Lafayette did the same, pushing on his gas pedal once he found a car that he liked. 

“Make sure to pick automatic, otherwise this might be a little harder,” Peggy nodded, quickly making all her selections. Lafayette was slower to roll, but found all of his selections in due time. They waited as the cinematics rolled of all the other cars and the barely clothed women waving the flags. 

“I just push the pedal and steer, oui?” 

“ _Oui_ ,” Peggy copied, and it made Laf stop for a second to look in her direction. It sounded so sweet, and kind when it came from her mouth. It was one word, but it sounded like- 

“I’m going to totally whoop you in this race,” Peggy mumbled as she leaned forward, snapping Lafayette out of his brief trance. A grin overtook his features and he looked back to his own screen. 

“In your dreams, Miss Schuyler,” 

On the other side of the arcade, John and Eliza were engaged in a very intense game of monster hunting, both holding shotguns up to their shoulders as their characters wandered through mazes of zombies and other creatures alike. 

“To your left, ‘Liza!” 

Their guns both aimed in the same direction as the creature onscreen exploded. Eliza cheered and high fived John with her trigger hand. 

“Are you excited for fall break?” Eliza asked, keeping her eyes planted firmly on the creatures that kept running up to them. 

“Oh yeah,” John gawked. “I’m beyond ready to get away from school for a week and a half.” 

“A half? What break are you taking, John?” Eliza giggled before gasping as something popped up in front of them. Intense shooting finished and John continued. 

“I say half because we have to be here for the second week of break for rehearsals, so…” 

“Ahh,” Eliza mulled, pressing a button on the giant console that would throw a grenade. “It isn’t so bad, a week is still really nice.” 

“Yeah, you know I was thinking that we all could go on a road trip sometime during the week. Maybe the six of us- on the right flank!” Cue nonstop shooting. “You know, pile into our cars and drive away. Maybe go see some sights.” 

“I think that would be- oh crap, boss!” The next two minutes were filled with shouts of instructions to each other followed by cheers of joy. They put down their guns once the game read the ‘Game Over’ sign and used both of their hands to high five. 

“Nicely done, Laurens.” Eliza shook his hand for good sportsmanship, and they had won, so.

“As to you, Schuyler,” John scanned the room, looking for another open machine that grabbed his eye. There, off in the corner was an empty dance machine. He gestured in that direction and then led Eliza over. “You were saying? Before we totally slayed that boss.” 

“Oh!” Eliza acknowledged as she swiped her game card. “Yeah, I think that would be really fun. To get out for a little while and forget about… everything.” 

John took her hand in his own and gave a warm smile. It was clear that everything with Alexander had really taken an emotional toll on Eliza since the previous week, and John wasn’t even sure if she knew about Alex and Maria being an item. It had never officially been proclaimed and Alex seemed to prefer that it stay under wraps. Probably because he had only known her for less than two months and any sensible person knew that it all seemed to be moving really fast. 

“Yeah, you’ll be able to forget about everything. Except for this butt whooping you are about to receive in this game.” 

Eliza ripped her hand away from his and shoved his entire body away. 

“Bring it, Laurens!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I fixed this whole timing thing. Yikes. If not, feel free to yell at me and tell me if you are confused or not. Much appreciated! 
> 
> Almost 5,000 words, I'm impressed with myself! And I feel this story finally needs more Peggy and Lafayette moments, so be prepared.
> 
> Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!


	12. Rise and Grind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to school from a two week break and things are looking up. Well, maybe not for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writers block, school, and family problems. I am so sorry for my absence. Nothing I write is turning out how I want, so I'm hoping now that this chapter is done I'll be able to actually write good materials. Yikes. I am so sorry. 
> 
> I did not read this for corrections, I am so so so so sorry for all the errors it probably has. 
> 
> Thank you to those of you who continue to amaze me with your dedication. I couldn't do this without you.

Eliza’s fingers flew over the keyboard at an unimaginable pace and she mumbled small notes of remembrance as she typed. Her tapping would be interrupted by a long period of scrolling, before the girl would make a noise of acceptance and bookmark yet another page to look back on. There was a quiet undertone in her bedroom, lyrics of some musical’s song bouncing off of the walls. Her parents had long since gone off to bed and her sisters were off in their own quarters, probably scrolling through social media or watching something new on Netflix. 

Eliza began humming along to the song, marking yet another page on her computer screen. 

“Oh wow…” she mumbled to herself. “Ethnic diversity essay scholarships. That might be a good one.” 

“Liza you know those things are so difficult to get. Especially essay contests on something so broad.” A male voice floated through the air and Eliza scoffed, hardly looking away from her screen. Though she had no reason to, for the voice was coming through on her speakers. In a shrunken down window, the face of John Laurens was lit up brightly and he looked to be in the same focused state of mind that Eliza was in. “If it were more specific it seems like it would be easier.” 

“Since when is easier better, John?” 

Laurens hesitated on the other end and Eliza rolled her eyes, scrolling through a refreshed list of scholarships. “Good point.” He finally let out. 

The two of them had been at the search for a few hours, and the time read almost eleven thirty. It was a Sunday night and they had school in the morning, but the late hour wasn’t anything new to them. After all, they were high schoolers. What high schooler went to bed at a reasonable time? 

In all reality, Eliza knew that she had little to worry about in terms of money. Her family was very well along and her father had promised that he would pay for her schooling no matter where she decided to go or what path she chose to pursue a career in. It was comforting to know, but Eliza didn’t want to take that easy way out. She didn’t want to be a financial burden on her family if she could help it, so she was beginning her search for scholarships tirelessly with John at her side. The two of them had agreed to take it step by step together. 

She had already found a few different sites that had a good number of diverse scholarships to choose from and things weren’t looking too bad at that point. John had asked her what she wanted to pursue in college and her answer was difinitively teaching. She wanted to be a teacher for younger kids; that Eliza knew for certain. It was all due to her third grade teacher who pushed the younger Eliza in ways that she never would understand until much later in her schooling. She constantly went back to see her, helping out with the smaller children as volunteer work. 

Her career was set in stone, and so was John’s. Or, at least John felt it was. Laurens dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and living on the coast where he could run a research facility that doubled as a rehabilitation center for injured creatures of the sea. After a long (and very detailed) rant, Eliza understood loud and clear what it was that John wanted to do with his life. She also understood that John’s father, Henry, greatly disapproved of the path his son was wanting to take. It broke her heart to know that John lacked support from his own father, and his mother had long since passed on. 

Where others lacked, Eliza was trying to help make up for it. 

Their searches went on for a few more minutes until one of them spoke again, this time it being John to break the silence. 

“Hey, so…” he sounded apprehensive and Eliza paused her searching for a moment to enlarge her friend’s face. “I found another one. I’m gonna read it for you, and you let me know if you think I might fit the qualifications for it, okay?” Eliza nodded, closing her eyes to focus on the words coming from John’s mouth as he spoke. “Being set aside by society is a burden that thousands of kids face each day in the LGBTQ community. Children who grow up in the community, or with the knowledge of being different have a much different perception of life than most other kids. In an essay, submitted online, take the time to explain the effect that being an individual in the LGBTQ world has had on the lives of you or your friend and family around you.” His voice trailed off softly as he waited for Eliza’s response. 

Eliza, on the other hand, had her eyebrows knitted together in confusion and she opened her eyes to stare at him. “You aren’t in the LBGTQ community John, are you?” 

“Well no…” 

She scratched her head, reaching over to take a drink from her cup of water. “So then… you can’t really write an essay that’s meant for kids in the-” 

“But I am gay.” 

The cup in her hand hit the floor and spilled the remainder of the water onto the carpet. 

“Wait.” She paused. “What?” 

John said nothing, merely nodded and bit his lip in what was probably a sign of fear. He could have been having regrets, realizing that maybe it wasn’t best to come out to Eliza. Maybe he thought she was a homophobe and wouldn’t want to be around him anymore, or that she wouldn’t even want to talk to him. 

Boy could he not have been more wrong if that’s what he thought. 

“You’re gay?” She asked again, as if needing clarification. 

“I am.” He said the words quieter than prior and it made Eliza’s heart ache. Her senses returned and a warm smile spread across her face. 

“John… thank you.” 

“For what?” His voice was still tense. 

“For trusting me enough to tell me this about you.” Eliza could see John visibly relax into his chair and pull a nervous smile across his lips as well. “I have never felt more proud to call you my best friend, John Laurens.” 

John went on and on to Eliza about the fact that she was the first person he had come out to, and how he was scared to tell his father because he knew just how much his father openly disliked gay people. And Eliza listened. She listened so intently that the scholarship search was long forgotten, to be picked up another day. 

~~~~~~~~~

When morning rolled around, her alarm woke her up in a chipper mood for someone who had only gotten five hours of sleep. Not too shabby, but could have been better. Nevertheless, Eliza felt rejuvenated. It was the first day back to school from their fall break, and the middle Schuyler sister was ready to get the second quarter moving. The group had been at school together a few times for rehearsals, but only in the afternoon, so it didn’t truly feel like school (thankfully). 

Ten minutes later and Eliza was zooming down the stairs to grab breakfast; a little oatmeal would do her some good later in the day when her awareness began to wear off from the lack of sleep. Her mother was sitting at the table when she skipped through the kitchen. Eliza planted a kiss firmly on the older woman’s head. 

“Morning, mom,” 

“Why good morning to you, too, dear,” Catherine grinned warmly at her daughter and went back to reading her paper. That woman was one of the only whom Eliza knew that still read the paper in its tangible form. It was a charming quality. “You seem oddly excited to be going back to school,” 

“Well, I do suppose there is some truth to that statement,” Eliza mused, pulling out a bowl. 

“Some? Dear, you don’t see your sisters galavanting around this kitchen with a smile on their faces, do you?” 

“No, but Angie and Pegs aren’t morning people.” 

Catherine chuckled from behind her paper, shaking her head fondly. “And neither are you, sweetheart.” 

The oats were poured into a bowl, and the milk added before Eliza stuck it in the microwave for two minutes, turning to debate on what fruit was to accompany it. 

“Is there anything exciting going on at school that would have you in such a good mood this morning?” Her mother asked, not looking up from the black and white pages in front of her. 

Eliza tapped her chin for a moment before shaking her head and answering, “No, not really. I suppose I’m just excited to get back in and get the quarter going.” 

“That’s reason enough, then.” Catherine gave her daughter a fond smile and stood, stretching her arms over her head. “Have a wonderful day back, my dear.” 

Eliza giggled quietly to herself. “Thanks, mom.” 

~~~~~~~~~

“You know, school is just so great,” Eliza mumbled to herself as she picked up her lunch from the cafeteria counter. The women behind it were smiling brightly, thankful for the help she and her sisters had given like they usually did. 

“What makes you say that?” Peggy’s voice was flat and almost toneless as she grabbed her tray. Clearly the youngest sister was not enjoying the day as much as Eliza was. “Endless amounts of homework and tests. The best, right?” 

“Oh cheer up, Peggy.” Angelica rolled her eyes. The three of them wandered over to their usual table, passing by the Revolutionary bunch on the way there. John had smiled at Eliza and waved to the other two. In the morning John and Eliza had shared such a sweet moment upon their first meeting. It was as though a huge weight was lifted from their air; a weight that neither of them realized was even there. 

Lafayette whispered something to Peggy, causing the younger to blush and quickly shuffle off to follow Eliza. Hercules and Angelica shared a fist bump, and the two groups kept their distance. Although Eliza didn’t dwell on it, she did notice the lack of Alexander sitting at the table. Their usual rowdiness was reduced to nothing but a murmur. The three boys didn’t seem particularly upset by it, and John relieved her inquiries by shrugging it all off. 

Eliza let the topic drop. 

“I’m oddly excited for rehearsal tonight,” Peggy stated, taking a bite out of her chicken. 

“Why? Because you and the techies get to watch us run through almost half of the show?” Angie asked lightly before adding, “And because you get to see _Laf_ being all cute?” 

“What? No!” Peggy leaned back, immediately throwing her hand up in what was to be defense. “That isn’t why! I’m just really excited to see… how the set is working out so far. I mean, we got more pieces in and I just want to see if they’re working out.” 

Indeed, the tech students had been hard at work over break, spending even more time in the workshop at school than the actors themselves did on stage. The ground had made a few more stores and platforms and had slowly started easing them onto the stage. By the time school resumed session, they had almost half of the bodega made up. The pieces weren’t painted or anything, because they were only test pieces before the real ones went in, but it was enough to grab a much better general picture. 

Peggy had been more than cheery when she came home from those rehearsals, and it left Eliza wondering what on earth was so good about being there during break. But she didn’t question. Just let Peggy have her smiles and giggles, and even join in once in awhile. 

“I think it’s because she get’s to see Lafayette.” Eliza leaned close to Angie, whispering just loud enough for Peggy to hear. 

“Is not!” Eliza watched as Peggy passed a glance to Laf, who was mid-laugh with his buddies, ponytail bouncing in the adorable way that only his hair could. 

“Peggy, it’s okay to have crushes, you know.” Eliza chimed back in, taking a sip from her juice. 

“I don’t have a-” she stopped short, looking down at her food. 

“In fact,” Angelica started. “I’d say that he might have a little crush on you, too.” 

“No, Lafayette would never like a girl like me.” 

“And why not?” Eliza asked, putting her hand on her cheek, resting it there. “What’s wrong with Peggy?” 

“Just…” Pegs trailed off, shaking her head in dismissal. “Nothing. Come on, eat up or you’re going to run out of time.” 

And that was the end of that conversation. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“Dani, don’t! My pastor told me gossip is a sin.” Eliza heard a few chuckles coming from the small crowd in the auditorium as she said her line, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Jesus, perdóname.” Angelica’s accent had improved so much since the group had started their rehearsals, Eliza couldn’t help but feel proud. Gladys went behind my back for a ten dollar hairdo guess what she found in her extensions? Una cucaracha. One of the big ones, with wings.” 

Just then Theodosia entered, bouncing happily, but with an air of tension around her. Eliza had come to realize that Theo was the sweetest person she was going to meet throughout the entire show process. 

“Hey, ladies…” 

Their introductions pass and the song ends just as quickly as it had started. Eliza and the two remaining girls downstage made their push back into the salon where they would stay until 96,000. Angelica had her sister sit down so she could ‘do her hair’ which really consisted of her fluffling it up, only to shake her head and press it all back down again. 

A little far off on her shoulder, Eliza could hear Alexander, John, and Laf going through their usual lead in to 96,000. It was the usual routine, nothing crazy happening, no damned panic attacks, no catastrophic collisions. It all felt… easy. 

That song came and went as well, and Eliza found herself sitting in the wings, watching Mrs Washington completely blow her solo out of the water. The woman had so much poise and beauty, yet she played the older role so well, it amazed Eliza. 

In the moments that Eliza had to reflect, she found herself smiling inwardly. The day had gone so well and things were really looking up for her. An A on an English test, a wonderful lunch, a seamless rehearsal: Eliza really felt like the chips were on her side of the board. It was an empowering feeling that the young woman hadn’t felt in a very long time. Best of all, she finally felt the whole drama with Alex finally blowing over. There hadn’t been one point in the day where she thought of Alex and immediately felt sad. If he wanted to date Maria then let him. She had friends on her side who knew what was right and what was wrong, and they would always be around when she needed it. 

And that was definitely enough for her. 

~~~~~~~~~~

“How was the first day back, ladies?” Philip asked curiously at the dinner table, unraveling a napkin onto his lap. 

“It went well for me, father.” Angelica shrugged, picking up her fork to stick into her flourishing salad. “Peggy has a crush on Lafayette.” 

“Lafayette?” Philip seemed to immediately take on that I’m-a-protective-dad look. “Who is this Lafayette boy?”

“Angie!” 

“He’s in the show, papa.” Eliza giggled, passing a glance at Peggy. “He’s also friends with John.” 

“Yes, I know this John boy, but I don’t recall having any information on this Lafayette person.” Philip placed his hands on the table, raising an eyebrow at the three girls. “Tell me about him.” 

There settled a silence so thick that one could have scooped it from the air like ice cream from a carton. Eliza spoke up when it became clear that Peggy would not. 

“He’s a French exchange student who came here a few years ago for high school. He got so lucky and now he’s graduating with all of us instead of having to go back home. He’s also _very_ cute. Peggy can tell you what he looks like.” 

“Oh girls, please.” Their mother chuckled fondly, shaking her head. “How about we leave the antagonizing of the sister until after dinner, yes?” 

“Yes, mom.” In came another silence as the five of them began digging into their meals. A few minutes passed before Philip brought up the next question. 

“How is the show going?” 

“Fairly well, father.” Angelica mused, glancing at her two sisters for confirmation. 

“Oh yes, it’s been a lot of fun.” Eliza grinned. 

“The set pieces look like they’re really going to work where we put them, and that is such a relief. Most of us thought that we’d have to redo a bunch of the doors and platforms.” 

Their conversations floated on easily over the dinner table for the rest of their meal. After it was all said and done, the sisters helped clean up before heading off in their separate directions for the night. Eliza got ready for bed, went through her entire routine and then found herself smiling up at the ceiling. She felt… at ease. No school stress, the show was going well, her friends were all in order, and best of all, she felt as though she was finally over Alex. 

Things were really looking up for Eliza.

~~~~~~~~~

Alexander could feel the pounding in his head and _God_ did it hurt. The computer screen was bright in his face, making his eyes readjust every few seconds. Words were coming out of his mind, but they were no good, so Alexander kept repeatedly starting over (nine times in total by that time). 

The frustration was seeping in, and Alexander was feeling the cracks in his surface starting to widen. The colleges had asked so late for an essay; it hadn’t been stated in the application process, but they added it in last second. The deadline was in a few weeks, and Alexander knew that wasn’t enough time to truly string together an essay that he could be proud of. But he wanted that college more than anything in the world, so damn it if Alexander wasn’t going to try. 

Sadly, trying meant less time to do much of anything else. Alex glanced down at his desk and took note of the still empty plate that he had faintly hear his mother dropping off for him not long before. Or… maybe it had been a while. He squinted at the time on the screen and grimaced. Sure enough, the time was almost three in the morning. 

“Shit…” he mumbled to himself, grabbing at his phone from where it sat on the charger. A few notifications from Maria covered his screen as well as one from his Instagram account. He cursed under his breath and weighed his next options. Pull an all-nighter and write another version of the essay that’ll most likely be erased anyway, or try to sleep for a few hours? 

One look at his discarded papers and Alexander had his answer. His hands stretched up over his head and he resumed his tying. 

Things weren’t looking so hot for Alex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's a thing. More things are gonna happen soon. Woop. Again, I am so sorry for the lack of quality in this. Stick with me!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [If we don't Hang together](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6407332) by [DonOsservatore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonOsservatore/pseuds/DonOsservatore)




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